Code Geass: RE R
by dude overdrived
Summary: A mysterious being with a geass that can bring the dead back to life revives former-emperor Lelouch Lamperouge. Lelouch must find out why he was revived, while also trying to avoid contact with Nunnally and his friends, especially Suzaku.
1. The Day a Demon Died

**Code Geass: RE R**

Chapter 1: The Day a Demon Died

Lelouch vi Britannia...a name that often led to conflicting emotions. In some, it struck fear and hopelessness. Others...it created hope for a brighter future. These hopeful were known as the Japanese. Many years ago, on August 10, 2010, the empire known as the Holy Britannian Empire conquested the island of Japan. There, the Japanese were considered barbarians and animals. Their names were even taken away and replaced with a number - Eleven.

Lelouch vi Brittania was a former Britannian prince, who was exiled, along with his sister Nunnally, to Japan. There, he became friends with young warrior Suzaku Kururugi. Eventually, when Britannia conquested Japan, the two became separated. Lelouch left Suzaku with a few final words,

"I swear Suzaku, one day...I will obliterate Britannia!"

As Lelouch grew older, he and Nunnally stayed at and attended Ashford Academy, where they took on the surname Lamperouge. No one except the Ashfords knew of Lelouch's royal lineage. Lelouch continued to despise Britannia, but could not do anything about it until one day.

In an incident that occured in the Shinjuku Ghetto, Lelouch met a mysterious woman- C.C. This woman gave Lelouch 'the power of the kings', or Geass. With Geass, Lelouch was able to command anyone, except C.C., to do anything. With this new power, Lelouch donned a mask and called himself 'Zero', a crusader who fought for the Japanese. As Zero, Lelouch created a new order called the Order of the Black Knights, a group of people dedicated to destroying Britannia.

As Lelouch continued his efforts, his relationships with his loved ones strained. After Suzaku betrayed Lelouch and handed him over to Emperor Charles zi Britannia, Nunnally was taken away from Lelouch. Eventually, Lelouch's identity as Zero was made public to the Black Knights, who consequently betrayed him. Believing that there was only one thing left to do, Lelouch attempted to kill his father, the Emperor. With help from C.C. and Suzaku, after reconciling with him, Lelouch was able to do so. Thus, Lelouch donned the crown and became the 99th Emperor of Britannia.

All people, even the Black Knights, saw Lelouch as a tyrant ruler. Only C.C. and Suzaku stayed by his side. However, it was actually Lelouch's plan to have everybody hate him. If Lelouch were to be killed and disappear, peace would be achieved. Lelouch was willing to die a martyr; he was willing to die thinking himself to be the destroyer and creator of worlds. And so proceeded his plan for his own death. During the supposed execution of the Black Knights and the U.F.N. leaders, Lelouch ordered Suzaku to dress as Zero. Zero then fulfilled the deed by striking Emperor Lelouch through the heart with a sword.

With the tyrant Lelouch gone, the world could finally be at peace. The world would no longer focus on war, but reconstruction instead. Suzaku has continued to be Zero, and C.C. continues looking for someone who could finally fulfill her wish, and help her to truly reunite with Lelouch. Geass...helped make the world a better place.

-

_Date: August 10, 2020 a.t.b._

The world's superpowers are no longer at conflict with one another. Area 11 is now known as Japan once again. The Britannian Empire remains under the control of Empress Nunnally vi Britannia, with Suzaku-Zero and Schneizel el Britannia at her side. Kallen Stadtfeld, operator of the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. Eight Elements. Milly Ashford remains a goofy weatherwoman. Jeremiah Gottwald, when not working in the government, helps to cultivate orange trees. C.C. has just recently come back to Ashford Academy, not having found another person to fulfill her contract yet.

The man watched C.C. at the gates of Ashford Academy. He watched as she began walking to the back of Ashford Academy. He followed her.

C.C. was now at the garden at the back of Ashford Academy. At the very center of this garden, was a gravestone. This gravestone read:

_Here lies Lelouch vi Britannia_

_99th Emperor of Britannia_

_Zero_

C.C. touched the gravestone. She smiled. "Lelouch...so this is where Suzaku and Nunnally decided to bury your body."

C.C. put a rose on Lelouch's gravestone. She then left.

The man watched C.C. as she left. He then went over to the gravestone where the true Zero laid.

"Lelouch vi Britannia...the one who destroyed a world at war, and created a new world at peace..."

He knelt down to the gravestone. He glared at the words on the stone as if they were blasphemy.

"You were a fool, Britannia. You had the legendary power of Geass. You could have conquered the world. Instead, you orchestrated your own death to save the world. If I had that power, I wouldn't have hesitated at all. I would have ruled with an iron fist!"

The man stood up. He looked at the stone again. "My promise...the promise _he_ gave me that one day, that I would rule the world...it _shall_ be fulfilled."

The man took off his sunglasses. Under them, he revealed a pair of Geass sigils in his eyes. He looked at the gravestone one more time. Suddenly, the dirt and the stone on Lelouch's grave began to shake.

"I will correct your mistake! _Lelouch vi Britannia, Order of the Black Knights's Leader, and 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire..."_

The gravestone began violently shaking, as if something was going to come out.

_"REawaken!"_

_"Zero!"_


	2. The Day a Demon is Reborn

Chapter 2: The Day a Demon is Reborn

_Date: August 12, 2020 a.t.b._

It was night time. C.C. was at the front of the Ashford house, where she stayed with Lelouch for a very long time. She sat on the steps, talking with a distant friend.

"Hmm...things have truly changed, Lelouch. The peace is everywhere, and all is well. For everyone else, that is." C.C. let out a small sigh. "I have still not found someone yet to fulfill my wish. Oh, how I long to be rid of this code and continue on to the sweet release of death. Oh, Lelouch...Lelouch?"

C.C. stood up. It seemed as if her telepathic link with Lelouch, who was supposed to be in C's World, was gone.

"...what could this mean?"

-

"Ugh..."

He rose up from the ground. He found himself covered with dirt, and was feeling very thirsty, as if he had not drank in years...

"Need...fluids..."

He noticed a water fountain amidst the countless flowers and plants. Weakly, he stood up. He began slowly walking over to the water fountain. When he got there, he drank and drank and drank.

"Ahh..."

He looked down at himself. He noticed that he was wearing the Ashford Academy uniform, instead of his royal clothes. As his thirst was quenched, he began to come back to reality. He looked at the ground from where he came. He noticed that there was a large hole in the ground. In the hole, there was a jewel-encrusted coffin. Apparently, that was what he got out of. He then looked at a gravestone that was near the hole.

_Here lies Lelouch vi Britannia_

_99th Emperor of Britannia_

_Zero_

"Lelouch vi Britannia...that is the name of a monster. That is the name of the crusader who led the Order of the Black Knights. That...is me."

Lelouch stood tall above the grave in which he had been laying in for more than a

year. The last things he could remember was being at the public execution of the Black Knights and the U.F.N. leaders. The next thing that happened was Zero rushing up to him and killing him. The _very_ last thing he remembered was dying in his crying sister Nunnally's arms.

"Geass...it made the world a better place. But with me alive again...it's another weapon."

Lelouch sat down. He began pondering why he has returned from the dead.

_Why am I alive? How am I alive? Did someone bring me back from the dead? C.C.? No, I don't think she has the power to do that. Suzaku? He wouldn't ever risk doing that. Someone else with Geass? ..._

Lelouch stood up again. "That must be it. Someone with an extraordinarily powerful Geass must have brought me back. But why?"

Lelouch heard someone coming. Fearing what someone would think if they saw the dead prince of Britannia alive and well again, he ran over to the bushes.

Lelouch saw someone walking over to the grave. It appeared to be a green-haired woman. It was...C.C.!

-I-

C.C. walked over to the grave. She was shocked to see it open. She ran over to it, and saw the open coffin. Lelouch's body was no longer in it.

"What? Where is his body? If someone came here and began grave robbing, I would have noticed it! Could it be...Lelouch?"

Lelouch decided that he had to get away as quickly as possible. As he began to step back, he accidentally stepped onto a twig.

_Snap!_

C.C. twisted her head around. She looked at the bushes. "Who's there?!?"

"Crap." Lelouch turned around to run away. As he began running, he noticed something odd. He was actually _running_. And, he wasn't getting tired after a few seconds! Lelouch used this newfound strength to run away from C.C. as fast as possible, who was now chasing after him.

"Who are you? Where is Lelouch's body? What have you done with him?!?"

Lelouch continued running faster and faster. He suddenly found himself running at near-Suzaku speed. Eventually, he got onto the street, and ran away farther and farther.

C.C. stopped. She stared at the faint silhouette of the mysterious person who was at Lelouch's gravesite.

"Who..."

-

Lelouch looked behind his back. He saw that C.C. was no longer pursuing him. Deciding to finally relax, he stopped running.

Panting and panting, he sat down on a nearby bench. He saw that he was now at the shopping outlet where he once bought Miss Viletta liquor for her birthday.

Lelouch needed to find someplace to rest for the night, where he was not out in the open. He went into a nearby alley, and lied down behind a dumpster. Had Lelouch been more awake, the disgusting smell of the dumpster would have kept him awake all night. However, he was very sleepy right now, so he was okay for anything.

"Tomorrow...I get to the bottom of this."

**-And that, my friends, is Lelouch's first day at the beginning of his second chance of life. You won't believed how shocked I was to find that 4 people already reviewed my story practically the day it was published!!! I also can't believe how many added this to story alert! Thanks! Anyway, you guys remember the guy in the first chapter that brought Lelouch back to life? I'm trying to think of a good European name for him, but it's not going well. Please review, and PLEASE give me ideas for a good European first and last name (any nation's name, French Spanish British, will work)! -**


	3. Wrath of Acceptance

Chapter 3: Wrath of Acceptance

_Date: August 13, 2020 a.t.b._

_groan..._

Lelouch woke up with a groan. He looked up to find the sun blazing. Suddenly, Lelouch began to sense a very rank odor. It only took a few moments to re-register that he was behind a dumpster.

"Oh, geez..." Lelouch stood up, and pinched his nose with his fingers. He then walked out of the alley where he slept, and stepped onto the sidewalk. He saw many people also on the sidewalk, and saw many cars along the street.

"So...it wasn't a dream. I really am alive again."

_Grumble..._

Lelouch noticed that his stomach was grumbling. He clutched it, as he hadn't eaten in over a year. He decided that he had to go get food, but he had to get a disguise first.

-

Lelouch went into the store called "Britannia/Japan Collab". He went in, and got himself a brown wig, a brown hat, a pair of black pants, a blue shirt, and a brown blazer. He then went up to the cashier.

"Okay, sir," the cashier said as he added up the totals. "Your total is going to be $94.58 **(I don't know much about japanese yen or english pounds, so I'll just use american money)**."

"No problem," Lelouch said, smiling. He then made eye contact with the cashier. A geass sigil appeared in his left eye. _"Uh, could you just give this to me for free and pay me 20 bucks?"_

_"Sure thing, sir! It's all yours!"_ the cashier said as he bagged Lelouch's clothes and handed him 20 dollars.

"Thanks!" Lelouch said as he walked out of the store.

"...huh? What's going on?" The cashier looked around the store, confused.

-I-

_Okay, so it appears that my geass is still working. However, it's reverted back to when I first got it from C.C. It's only in one of my eyes, but I don't need the contacts back yet._

Lelouch went over to the nearby Pizza Hut. There, he spent $5 to buy three slices of cheese pizza. As he got his order, he sat down at a table and hungrily munched on the tasty food.

_Mm. I see why C.C. loves this stuff so much. Or maybe it's because I'm so hungry, I'll eat anything._

Suddenly, the Britannian news came on a television screen in the Pizza Hut restaurant. On the news, Lelouch's little sister Nunnally, who was also the Empress, appeared.

"Greetings, my fellow Britannians and my Japanese allies! I am Nunnally vi Britannia, Empress of Britannia!"

Lelouch frowned and stared back at his food. _Nunnally is doing a great job at being ruler of Britannia. She's smart, and does not wish to resort to violence. But what I'm wondering, is why someone would want to bring me back? The world is better off without me, anyway. _

"Allow me to also re-introduce to you someone whom you already should know. Welcome Zero!" The masked crusader then appeared next to Nunnally, as her ally forever.

_Suzaku...by agreeing to my plan to have you dress up as Zero and kill me, you have sacrificed your eternal happiness. You have to wear Zero's costume all the time, without taking it off. You have practically no allies, and your only friends are Nunnally and Schneizel, though Schneizel doesn't really have much of a choice._

"And lastly, here is my second aide! This is Schneizel el Britannia!" A man with blond hair also appeared next to Nunnally.

_Schneizel...before I died, I gave you a Geass command. This command required you to obey Zero. As I was once Zero, you were forced to obey me. Now that Suzaku is known worldwide as Zero, you have no choice but to obey him. _

"The news I am about to talk about is the new document that is considering being passed by the Britannian government. In one month, the government will talk about whether or not they will ratify the Sigma Carta, which is..."

Lelouch did not want to see his loved ones on the screen anymore, so he left the store. He then went into the restroom, and changed into his new clothes. As he put on his wig and his hat, he put his Ashford Academy uniform into the bag. Afterwards, Lelouch left the shopping outlet altogether.

-II-

_Unfortunately, there's not exactly much that I can do. I wish to find the person who brought me back from the dead, but that's going to be impossible right now,_ Lelouch thought as he went down the road. _I have no allies, and I can't trust anybody right now. If word came out that Lelouch vi Britannia was back, great riots would occur._

Lelouch stopped walking. He turned to his side, and saw Ashford Academy. He was at the gates again. He looked in, and saw many students scrambling to get to class. He sighed as he remembered the good times in his first life when he was one of them.

"Hey! Look out!"

Lelouch was surprised, and turned to where the voice was coming from. Suddenly, a girl ran into Lelouch. This caused the both of them to fall down. The impact also caused Lelouch's hat to fall off and his wig to almost fall off.

Lelouch looked at who bumped into him. She was a student, as she was wearing an Ashford Academy uniform. She had crimson red hair, and a noticably large bust. _ Oh crap..._

"Hey, I'm sorry about that," _Kallen_ said as she stood up. She then offered her hand to Lelouch. "I wasn't watching where I was... huh!?!"

Kallen noticed Lelouch's features. She saw his face, and could almost see all of his natural brown hair sticking out of his wig. Her heart nearly stopped.

"Are...you...Le..."

"Stay away from me!"

Lelouch scrambled to put his wig and hat back on. He then grabbed his bag with his uniform, and began running into the school campus. Kallen was not about to let this person away easily.

"Hey! Get back here, right now!"

Kallen dropped what she was holding, and began chasing the now-athletic Lelouch. She and Lelouch ended up running through crowds of students, who all parted to let Kallen through. They did not want to mess with her and her Guren.

_"Hey, what's up Kallen! Who ya chasin'?"_

_"Lookin' good Kallen!"_

Kallen ignored the hormone-crazy fanboys who were trying to flatter her. She set her eyes on one goal - to catch up with this person, and see if he was who she thought it would be.

Lelouch was getting annoyed with Kallen's perserverance. He decided that he needed to get rid of her, _now._ Suddenly, he saw Rivalz holding a bunch of boxes. Rivalz noticed Kallen, and called her over.

"Hey, K! You mind helping me with-"

Lelouch then went up behind Rivalz, and pushed him towards Kallen.

"Whoa-whoa!"

Rivalz and his boxes ended up running into Kallen. The two crashed and ended up falling down. Lelouch was able to escape Kallen's wrath.

"Aw, Rivalz! You idiot, I almost had him!"

"Almost had who?" Rivalz said, scrambling to get the boxes back.

"It was...never mind." Kallen stood up, and looked at the direction where the mysterious man ran. "It probably wasn't him anyway. He could never run that fast."

-III-

Lelouch was back at the entrance of the Academy. He looked behind him, and saw that Kallen was no longer pursuing him. He sighed and began walking again. He decided to take a visit to his grave.

Lelouch walked to Ashford Academy's behind. There, he saw his grave, all open with the jewel-encrusted coffin still inside. Lelouch knelt down, and examined the coffin.

Suddenly, Lelouch heard a gun cock behind him.

"Stand up. Now."

Lelouch stood up. He had his hands above his head.

"Face me."

Lelouch turned around to face whoever was pointing a gun at him. _Aw, hell..._ He saw C.C. with a Britannian pistol pointed straight at him.

"Who are you? What do you know of Lelouch Lamperouge's missing body?"

Lelouch did not answer.

"...remove your hat. And that poor excuse for a wig."

Lelouch drew his breath. He did not comply.

C.C. then shot the ground Lelouch was standing on. "Off. Now."

Lelouch sighed. Reluctantly, he took his hat off. C.C. drew her breath. Lelouch then took off the final thing - his wig. He dropped the items to the ground. C.C. could now see his whole figure. But most importantly, she saw his face.

A single tear came to C.C.'s eye. "...Le...louch..."

"C.C."

A moment of silence occured between the two allies of the past. C.C. then dropped her gun, and began walking towards Lelouch. She then greatly embraced him.

"You're...back..." C.C. said as she dug her head into Lelouch's chest.

Lelouch returned the embrace by hugging C.C. back. "...Yeah."

The two stood there again for the next few minutes. Old friends have been reunited. A contract, not of business, but of friendship, has renewed.

**(RE R)**

_Lelouch is seen lying in C.C.'s temporary home._

_"Geass..."_

_Kallen is seen confronting C.C._

_"What do you know? Is he back?"_

_Kallen invades C.C.'s home. She sees Lelouch sleeping._

_"Zero..."_

_The Next Stage, The Next Chapter: __**To Neutralize**_

**(RE R)**

**-And that, folks, is the third chapter! Lelouch once again has renewed an ally. That ally is C.C. Will Kallen become an ally once again? Or will hostility be created? Sorry about not updating in nearly a week. My computer had a bug, so I haven't been able to use it since Friday. I really felt like I was letting down all the people who added this story to their favorites and story alerts. But, the wait is over! From now on, I shall try to update this story every other day! So, there's a good chance a new chapter will be up by the weekend! Also, I hope no one forgot about my request for a name for the mysterious guy at the beginning of the story. Some good ideas have already been given, but more ideas would be nice, as well! Please review!-**


	4. To Neutralize

Chapter 4: To Neutralize

_Date: August 14, 2020 a.t.b._

C.C. woke up. She immediately got up from her bed, and undressed herself. She looked back on the bed, and saw that Lelouch was still asleep. She then opened her dresser. She took out a female Ashford Academy uniform. She put it on. As she reached for her cell phone, she remembered what happened last night...

-

_Date: August 13, 2020 a.t.b._

_8:00 PM at night_

Lelouch and C.C. were walking along the countryside. Lelouch looked and noticed how green the horizon had gotten during the time of his death. More trees were in the areas, the ponds and rivers were wider, and the birds were singing stronger than ever. Lelouch turned back to C.C.

"C.C., where are you taking me?"

"Obviously, we can't let anyone know that you have returned from death at the hands of Zero. I'll hide you."

After a few more minutes, Lelouch and C.C. reached a tiny house in the middle of a field. They went up to it, and C.C. took out a key. She then inserted a key into the door's handle, and opened it.

Lelouch peered inside. It was a very simple shelter. There was a bed (big enough for two people), a table, a dresser that held some clothes, and a "kitchen" with a seemingly infinite amount of pizza boxes.

"This is my temporary home," C.C. explained. "Everytime I come back to this area in Japan, I stay here."

"I assume you've been looking for a new person to grant your wish and bring you to death, right?" Lelouch correctly assumed.

C.C. smiled. "You haven't changed a bit, have you? Just as genius as always."

Lelouch ignored her. He then went over to the bed and sat down. C.C. then sat down next to him.

"What do you remember? Do you know what happened?"

"I'm not really sure," Lelouch said, trying to remember. "The only conclusion I can come up with is that someone used a geass to bring me back from the dead."

"That seems logical," C.C. said, agreeing. "But, then again, I've never heard of a geass that can bring about resurrection. It doesn't seem..."

Suddenly, C.C. had a shocked look on her face. Lelouch noticed this, and was surprised.

"What? What are you thinking about?"

"...nothing. Just go to sleep, Lelouch."

Lelouch attempted to protest, which led to C.C. trying to stuff Cheese-kun in his mouth everytime he talked. Finally giving up, Lelouch decided to go to sleep.

-

C.C. turned on her cell phone. She then called the office of Ashford Academy. "Hello. The new student will be transferring in today. Her name is Celia Cromburg."

-I-

C.C. left the house, and began walking to Ashford Academy. _...Geasses have limits. They are not to disrupt the natural order of things. Subjects such as forced obedience, time manipulation, and future visions do not do this. But...bringing someone back from the dead? That's definitely an order disruption. Whoever had this geass...has a contract with someone not of C's World._

C.C. arrived at the gates of Ashford Academy. Before she went in, she opened her bag, and took out some papers. She read over them.

New Students Transferring to Ashford Academy

As of August 16, 2020

_Vivian Artois_

_Marsellus Belvidere_

_Leonid Hastings_

_Malthus Sunderland_

The official story was that the four new students were exchange students from former Euro Universe lands that were not conquered by Britannia or joined the U.F.N. However, C.C. did a little bit of digging. She found out that the four students were really part of a supposed "new" rebellion being created to not only obliterate Britannia, but also take over the entire world.

Why does C.C. care? A few months ago, C.C. met up with Nunnally. C.C. became one of Nunnally very closest friends. C.C. looked at Nunnally as the little sister she never had, and Nunnally saw C.C. as the girl-big sister figure she never had. Thus, C.C. unofficially became Nunnally's third aide.

Nunnally asked C.C. to look into these new students, in fear that the peace Lelouch had brought would be ruined by another rebellion. She also asked C.C. not to reveal any secret information about the students, as they are cunning, smart, and violent. They would likely kill anyone who knew about their secret identities, even if that 'anyone' was an innocent person.

Before C.C. could spy on the upcoming students, she would have to know more about the campus. Thus, begins her first day of school.

-II-

"Alright class. I would like to welcome a new student." Ms. Courtese was at the front of the class. Rivalz was at the back of the class fidgeting. Kallen was looking at him like he was an idiot. Well, actually, he was.

"She will be joining our class today. Please welcome Celia Cromburg."

"Please, my name is so boring. I'd like to be called by my initials, C.C."

"Huh!?!" Kallen nearly fell out of her seat. Everyone in the class turned around to look at her.

"Uh, sorry, I was just, um, talking to myself," Kallen stammered.

"Okay, then," Ms. Courtese continued. "Is there anything you'd like to know before class begins, miss, um, C.C.?"

"Is there pizza for lunch?"

The entire class erupted in laughter. C.C. kept a straight face on, not showing any emotion.

"Um, yes, I believe so. Please take a seat next to Kallen."

"Gladly." C.C. began walking to the seat next to Kallen.

_"New girl's hot!"_

_"If she started making out with Kallen, you wouldn't believe how turned on I'd be!"_

C.C. smirked at the perverted comments. She then took her seat next to Kallen.

"Okay class, open your calculus textbooks and go to page..."

Kallen scooched over next to C.C. She then began furiously whispering.

_"What the hell do you think you're doing here?!?"_

C.C. leaned over and put her face right in front of Kallen's face. She made eye contact, and whispered, _"My business is none of your concern."_

"Do you two have something you want to tell the class?"

Kallen and C.C. looked up to see Ms. Courtese looking at the two of them. The entire class had their eyes on them.

"Were they making out!?!" One boy yelled out loud.

The entire class burst into extreme laughter. Ms. Courtese sent the boy to the principal's office.

"Now, Kallen? What are you and your new friend talking about?"

Kallen made a huge grin and wrapped her arm around C.C. "Well, I was just telling my _best friend_ here that there was a place in the student council for her. And now I'm thanking her for taking the spot!"

C.C. showed no emotion. She just nodded her head up and down.

Half and hour later, the bell rang. The moment it rang, Kallen looked and saw that C.C. was gone.

-III-

Lelouch woke up. He sat up from the bed, and realized that he was alone. He looked at the table and saw a note.

_Went out to get pizza. If you're wondering, it's going to be my dinner. You can have what's left (if there is any)._

Lelouch crumpled up the paper and threw it across the room. He then lied back in bed and consumed himself in thoughts.

"Geass..."

_Why did C.C. act so oddly when I told her about that resurrection geass? It shocked her, scared her even. I wonder what's wrong?_

Lelouch stood up, and began pacing the tiny one-room house. He noticed the dresser, and went to open it.

Lelouch only found some dresses, shirts, and underwear, and threw them onto the bed. He rifled more through the drawers, until he saw things under the clothes. One thing he found was an envelope. He opened it. Inside of it, there were a few pictures. The one he looked at most was a picture of C.C. behind Nunnally. Both of them were smiling.

Lelouch began crying. "Nu...na...lly..."

Lelouch did not want to see anymore. He went back into the bed with the picture of C.C. and Nunnally clutched in his hands. He went back to sleep.

-IV-

It was lunchtime. C.C. was at a table eating pizza. Previously, countless teenagers had attempted to ask her out. She brutally rejected all of them. She even left some crying. She did not think much of it.

As C.C. finished her pizza slice and was about to go get another, Kallen came over. She did not look very happy.

"Alright witch. Talk."

"Talk about what?" C.C. asked innocently.

"You know what. Why are you here?"

"I thought I made myself clear. My business is none of your concern."

"Not a good enough answer." Kallen went over to C.C. and grabbed her by the neck of her shirt. She lifted her up.

"You think you can threaten me?" C.C. said, scoffing.

"No, I don't. But I want some answers anyway!"

Kallen let go of C.C. "There's no reason for you to be here. The only reason you ever came here before in the first place was because of Lelouch, and..."

Kallen stopped. She remembered the incident from yesterday. She looked at C.C. with dead seriousness in her eyes. "What do you know? Is he back?"

C.C. did not answer.

"That's why you're here. You think he's back. Or maybe...you already know he's back."

"_He_ is not the reason I'm here."

"Still! You're not denying it!"

C.C. stood up. She went up to Kallen and made a threatening face. "Listen to my words. Lelouch is dead. No one, not even I, can bring him back."

Kallen gave no answer. Instead, she walked away.

-

_Dear Diary,_

_I thought my life could finally be normal. Japan is free again, and I don't need to fight anymore. Then today, C.C. came to school. She's posing as a new student named Celia Cromburg. To make things worst, she won't tell me why she's here. However, I do know one thing._

_Lelouch vi Britannia is alive and has returned._

-V-

The final bell had rung. All students were let out of class. C.C. scanned the entire campus. Kallen was nowhere to be seen.

-

Lelouch was still taking his nap. He was sleeping very soundly, and he was no longer crying.

_Click_

The door handle clicked. Lelouch did not awaken.

_Turn_

The handle was turning. Lelouch was as asleep as always.

_Open_

The door was now open. The girl walked into the house. She looks on as Lelouch was sleeping. However, this woman is not C.C.

A tear fell from Kallen's eye. "Zero..."

**(RE R)**

_Lelouch confronts C.C._

_"Nunnally..."_

_Kallen points a gun at Lelouch._

_"Britannia..."_

_Suzaku takes off his mask._

_"The world...is paying the price."_

_The Next Stage, The Next Chapter: __**The Unmasked Face**_

**(RE R)**

**-Kallen...is she on Lelouch's side again? Or...**

**The four new students', the ones possibly part of a new rebellion, names were taken from my readers' reviews. **_**Vivian **_**from 'Digimon Dreamer', **_**Marsellus **_**from 'Adrian2HBK', and **_**Leonid **_**and **_**Malthus**_** from 'noian'. Thanks for the ideas guys! The mysterious guy won't be appearing yet, but he will soon! His name? You'll find out soon enough!-**


	5. The Unmasked Face

Chapter 5: The Unmasked Face

_Date: August 14, 2020 a.t.b._

Lelouch woke up with a groan. He looked over at the small clock near the bed. It read 6:00 PM.

_School ends at 3:30. Why isn't C.C. back yet?_

Lelouch got up. He then noticed the item in his hand. It was the picture of Nunnally and C.C. that he had looked at earlier before he went back to bed. He sighed, then put the picture back in the envelope. He then put the envelope and the clothes back in the dresser.

_Grumble..._

Lelouch clutched his stomach. He was getting hungry again.

"Damn, where is C.C. and the food?"

Lelouch decided to go look for C.C. He put on his brown blazer and his brown wig. He then opened the door.

When Lelouch looked outside, he saw C.C. in front of him. However, she apparently wasn't greeting him. She was doing something different. She pointed a gun to him.

_Bang!_

The shocked Lelouch quickly dodged the bullet from the gun. The bullet went inside the house and hit the wall.

"C.C.! What the hell do you think you're doing?!?"

C.C. did not answer. She then pointed the gun at Lelouch's head. She shot another bullet, and Lelouch quickly dodged it again.

"Are you trying to kill me, witch?!?"

C.C. still did not answer. This time, she dropped the gun. She then dashed towards Lelouch. As she got to him, she landed a powerful punch on Lelouch's face.

Lelouch lay on the ground, his hand on his cheek. "Witch!"

C.C. _still_ did not say anything. She walked over to Lelouch, who was on the ground, and lifted her foot. She prepared to stomp on his chest.

Just as she was about to hit him, Lelouch grabbed her foot. He then twisted it. C.C. let out a small cry. Lelouch then twisted her foot some more and flipped her onto the ground. Lelouch leapt up.

"You want to mess with me? Bring it on!"

C.C. dashed towards Lelouch again. She prepared to deliver a punch to Lelouch's neck. He blocked her, pulled her arm forward, and smashed his fist into her face.

"Ugh!" C.C. knelt on the ground. Blood was coming out of her nose.

C.C. surprised Lelouch by performing a sliding kick on the ground aimed for Lelouch's feet. He was caught off guard, and fell to the ground. C.C. then grabbed one of Lelouch's legs. He used the other leg to kick C.C.'s side and spin himself free from her wrath.

C.C. prepared to to jump and stomp on Lelouch again. Lelouch then jump-flipped, and in the process, used both of his legs to kick C.C. in the face.

However, just as Lelouch stood up staight, C.C. ran over and punched Lelouch right in his face again. Lelouch had blood coming out of his mouth. C.C. went in to round-house kick Lelouch in his head, but Lelouch grabbed her leg just in time. Finally, Lelouch delivered a powerful uppercut to C.C.'s face, and kicked her stomach to cause her to fall down.

C.C. lay on the ground, gasping for breath. Lelouch stood above her panting, but it still was apparent that he was victorious.

"What the hell is wrong with you, C.C.?!? What do you hope to gain by attacking me? You deliberately provoked me to attack you!"

C.C. chuckled. She then stood up, no longer gasping for breath. "Listen to what you just said. Remember carefully."

Not knowing what C.C. meant, Lelouch remembered what he said. Then, he caught what she wanted him to remember: 'provoked me to attack you.'

"I...I actually attacked. I...defended." Lelouch said in awe.

C.C. wiped the blood off her face. "Apparently, when you came back from the dead, something else changed about you. You've been given physical prowess almost at Suzaku level."

"Yeah..." Lelouch thought some more. Then he stopped thinking about his new physical abilities and turned to C.C. "Why in god's name did you need to violently assault me to find out about my abilities?!?"

"I needed to provoke you to fight at your best. I needed to see just how powerful you are."

"C.C...."

"Well, you're hungry right? I've got some food here. Let's eat," C.C. said holding up a box of pizzas.

-I-

_Date: August 15, 2020 a.t.b._

C.C. told Lelouch to get up early. Apparently, she enrolled him to go back to school.

"Why do I have to go to Ashford Academy again, C.C.? It's very dangerous if anyone sees that I'm back." Lelouch asked as he put on his Ashford Academy uniform.

"I'll tell you tomorrow." C.C. was not in much of a mood to talk.

Lelouch sighed and put on his brown wig. C.C. then handed him a pair of blue contacts.

"I've heard people can identify other people just by looking at their eyes. Wear these contacts so no one can tell who you are," C.C. explained.

Lelouch took and put on the contacts. C.C. then ripped off his wig.

"Hey!"

"Kallen has already seen you in this wig. You need a different one," C.C. said, handing him a blonde wig.

Lelouch understood, and put the wig on. Today, would be a return to school from a _long_ break.

-

"Alright, class, we have a new student joining us today," Mr. Kisuuke announced to the class. "His name is, uh..."

"I'm Castor rui Pollux," Lelouch announced his fake name.

"Oh, right. It's an honor to have you in my physics class, mister Pollux. Please take a seat next to miss Celia Cromburg."

"Yes, Mr. Kisuuke." Lelouch shook Mr. Kisuuke's hand and walked over to where C.C. - Celia Cromburg - was sitting. He sat down next to her.

_"C.C., tell me what I'm doing here right now,"_ Lelouch whispered.

C.C. did not answer. This frustrated Lelouch.

"I'll take attendence right now," Mr. Kisuuke said. "Amelia Airhart?"

"Here."

"Jason Arthurs?"

"Present."

"Bertrice Beedam?"

"I'm here. _God, I hate my name."_

"Rivalz Cardemonde?"

"He- Oof!" Rivalz fell out of his chair. Apparently, over the past year, Rivalz got a little clumsy.

"I'm here," Rivalz said weakly.

Several students later...

"Ok, Kallen Stad- I'm sorry- Kallen Kouzuki? Miss Kouzuki?"

The teacher and students, including C.C. and Lelouch, looked around the entire classroom. Kallen was nowhere to be seen.

-II-

"Go back to your office quarters. Await my further instructions for later."

"Yes, Master Zero."

Schneizel bowed down to Zero. He then did as Zero said and went back to his office quarters.

_Schneizel...if I were to disappear, there's no telling what kind of terror you'd bring upon this world._

Zero went back into his own office. He sat back in his chair and relaxed. Finally, he took off his helmet, revealing Suzaku's face.

Suzaku placed the Zero helmet on the table. He fixated his eyes on it. The mask appeared to be staring back at him. Laughing at him. Or...smiling at him. Suzaku had many conflicting emotions about the mask of Zero. Sometimes, he felt anger. Sometimes...he felt happiness.

Suzaku looked at a mirror on the wall. He went up to it. He took a good look at his face, as he had not seen it in quite a while. He touched the unmasked face. It felt natural. It felt...human.

However, even with these feelings, Suzaku could not find happiness. He was forced to live the remainder of his life as the crusader Zero. In doing so, he would never find happiness in this life again.

_The only time I will ever be happy again...is when I reunite with Euphy._

Suzaku choked back a sob. Nowadays, every time Euphemia was mentioned...he would feel like he would die a little inside. Euphy was gone. Forever. Her life was taken. By Zero.

Suzaku banged his head on his desk. Zero killed Euphy. He could never forgive him for that. But, now he was the new Zero. He had put on the mask of the murderer who killed his loved one.

_I'm a hypocrite. I'm so confused. I hated Lelouch. But I helped him. He was my friend. I loved him. I hated him. I despised Zero. I became Zero. What is becoming of me?_

Suzaku looked onto the large computer screen. On one side of the screen, it showed the country of Japan, no longer Area 11. On the other side, it showed the Britannian homeland.

"Britannia made Lelouch into the crusader that he became. But ever since he became Emperor... The world...is paying the price. It is paying the price for angering the madman known as Lelouch. The world must learn from its mistakes, and reconstruct everything in peace."

Suzaku spun his chair around and faced away from the entrance to his office. He touched the unmasked face again. The unmasked face...it was the one of three things that convinced him to continue living. The second thing was, of course, the geass command Lelouch gave him to 'live'. The third...

"Good afternoon, Suzaku! How are you doing?"

Suzaku turned around to the familiar face. It was Empress Nunnally vi Britannia, Suzaku's only remaining true friend.

Suzaku managed to make a small smile. "I'm fine, Nunnally."

Nunnally noticed that Suzaku was not wearing his Zero mask. She smiled. "It feels good to see your natural face again. I haven't seen it in a while."

Suzaku turned his chair back towards the wall again. "...You're right. I haven't seen it in a while, either." Suzaku put his hand on his face. "Back then, when Zero impaled Emperor Lelouch, he told Zero that he had sacrificed his happiness. Zero was basically dead. This unmasked face...is one of the few things that make me remember I'm still alive."

"Don't say that, Suzaku," Nunnally said sternly. "You're very much alive. If you weren't alive, you wouldn't be sitting in front of me right now."

"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm not dead physically. I'm dead emotionally."

"Enough of this, Suzaku! I don't want to hear anymore!"

There was a moment of silence between the two. Nunnally seldom burst out in an angry outrage.

"So...what ever happened with C.C.'s mission?"

Nunnally looked surprised. "Huh? You know of the errand I gave miss C.C.?"

"You're not very discreet, your highness," Suzaku pointed out. "You and C.C. didn't exactly meet in a secret area. There were cameras everywhere."

"Well, the new 'students' don't arrive until tomorrow. Right now, C.C. is just getting familiar with the Ashford Academy campus."

"I don't see why she needs to get familiar with it. She spent so much time there with Lelouch, after all."

"If what I know is correct, Lelouch seldom let C.C. out of his room anyway."

"Remind me, Nunnally, about these 'students'."

Nunnally, in her hover wheelchair, came over to Suzaku's computer. Ever since she got her sight back, she had been learning more about sight-needing things like writing speeches and using computers. She went into the secret Britannian database, and revealed information about the four possible rebels.

"We believe that the four rebels are members of a single division. We believe this division to be the main one, being led favorably under the leader of the entire rebellion."

Nunnally brought up the information about the four. There were scarce amounts of information about them.

"We know very little about them. Vivian, Marsellus, Leonid, and Malthus. One woman and three men. They've shown suspicious behavior during the Era of Lelouch and appeared to threaten both Britannia and Lelouch's army. I don't want my brother's peace to be all for naught. I want any possible rebellions to end before they even start."

Suzaku stood up. _"The peace, huh?"_ Suzaku muttered under his breath. "I think I've heard enough." Suzaku then grabbed the Zero helmet. "Come, your highness. In twenty minutes, we have to be at a meeting. You remember, right?"

"Of course I remember," Nunnally said. "It's about ratifying...the Sigma Carta." Nunnally appeared distressed when she said 'Sigma Carta'.

"Well, let's go then."

Nunnally went out of Suzaku's office. Suzaku then went over to the mirror. He took a good long look at the unmasked face one more time. Then, he put back on his Zero helmet.

-III-

"C.C., what do you about Kallen?"

It was lunchtime. Lelouch and C.C. were sitting alone at a lunch table. As usual, C.C. had a plate of five pizza slices in front of her.

"Hmm?" C.C. said with a mouthful of pizza.

"Kallen. I already know she suspects something happened with me. Do you know anything about that?"

C.C. swallowed her mouthful of pizza. "She's come dangerously close to finding the truth. I have no idea where she is now."

Lelouch became concerned. _If Kallen finds out I'm alive...there's no telling whose side she''ll join. Mine? Or...someone else._

Suddenly, Lelouch remembered what he wanted to talk to C.C. about. He stood up from the lunch table. He dragged C.C. up, as well.

"Hey!" C.C. protested, dropping a pizza crust.

"My sister."

C.C. stopped. She folded her arms. "What about her?"

"Nunnally...you've meeten with her?"

C.C. sighed. She then sat back down. "Yes. I was passing by this area of Japan again after looking for a new contract wielder. I was outside the gates of Ashford Academy, when Nunnally appeared. We chatted for a bit, and we became friends. You were gone, Lelouch. She needed some kind of big sister or brother to look up to. She certainly wasn't going to get that from gloomy ol' Zero."

Lelouch also sat back down. "You're right." He then stood back up again. "I need to go somewhere. I'll be back before class starts again."

C.C. showed her approval by shooing him away while she munched down on another slice of pizza.

-

Lelouch stood in front of it. It was the old Ashford Academy compound. The one where he had lived at with Nunnally for a long time while attending Ashford Academy. He sighed as he reminisced.

"Come to remember old times, huh?"

Lelouch was surprised. He then turned around. He saw that the person talking to him was a girl. Kallen, to be exact.

"Uh, do I know you? I'm Castor rui-"

"Cut the crap. I know it's you, Lelouch."

Lelouch sighed. He decided that there was no point in trying to hide it. He took off his blonde wig.

"Yes, Kallen. It's me. I've risen up from hell **(not really)** and been given a second chance at life."

Suddenly, Kallen pulled out a gun from her shirt. She pointed it at Lelouch.

_Damn it. What is with all these girls threatening to kill me nowadays? I remember the old days when girls pointed their lips at me, not guns._

"Why are you here, Lelouch? How are you here?" Kallen's voice sounded like it was shaking.

Lelouch stayed calm. "I don't know. Someone brought me back for an unknown reason. I have yet to find out what that reason is."

"You shouldn't be here!" Kallen exclaimed. "I was happy that you made up this entire plan to help the world. You killed yourself for the sake of the world. But, if you're alive, you'll ruin all of that! People will riot! Violence will occur! The peace...will be gone." Kallen said those last words with a few tears rolling down her cheek.

Lelouch moved closer to her. "Then shoot me."

Kallen gasped. She trembled as Lelouch came closer and grasped her gun. He then relocated the gun to his heart.

"I can't fight back. Geass won't work on you, for I have already used it on you. I doubt I'm in any shape to use my newfound physical prowess on you. I'm helpless. Do the world a favor, Kallen. Kill me again."

"Don't you dare test me, Britannia!" Kallen screamed out. "Don't you dare!"

Lelouch still managed to stay calm. "I'm not testing you. I'm just giving you options. Will you let me walk free and bring destruction again? Or will you kill me and save the world from another dark era?"

Kallen cried more. She then shut her eyes.

-

C.C. was munching on her final piece of pizza. She wondered what was taking Lelouch so long. Suddenly, she heard a loud gunshot.

**(RE R)**

_C.C. walks back to her house._

_"Lelouch..."_

_Nunnally ends the meeting._

_"The Sigma Carta shall be..."_

_The four rebels kneel before their master. Vivian speaks._

_"It is time, master."_

_The Next Stage, The Next Chapter: __**Dusk Dawn**_

**(RE R)**

**-...Did Kallen...**

**I've been getting reviews talking about Lelouch's sudden physical abilities and the previews. If you're still confused about Lelouch's physical prowess, I'll go into deeper detail some other time. And to people who ask about the previews, the reason I do them is because previews were also done in the japanese anime of Code Geass. I'm trying to follow in the anime's footsteps, only in written form. Also, to any pokemon lovers out there: I urge any pokemon lovers to read my "Pokemon: Battle Region" fanfic. It's got many chapters, but I can't help but feel it gets lonely and unread. Anyways, thanks for reading Code Geass: RE R! I hope to update soon!-**


	6. Dusk Dawn

Chapter 6: Dusk Dawn

_Date: August 15, 2020 a.t.b._

C.C. walked slowly back to her house. She opened the door, and sat down on her bed. He threw her bag to the ground and lied back on the bed.

"Lelouch..."

Just earlier, C.C. heard a gunshot...

-

_A Few Hours Earlier..._

C.C. was munching on her final piece of pizza. She wondered what was taking Lelouch so long. Suddenly, she heard a loud gunshot.

She stood up. She looked around at the other students. Apparently, she was the only one who heard the gunshot. Everyone else was going on with their days. She looked to the direction where she heard the gunshot. It was close by the old Ashford Academy compound where she once lived with Lelouch.

_Wait a minute...that's the direction where Lelouch went!_

C.C. dropped her pizza on the ground **(hard to believe, isn't it!)**, and ran over to the compound.

C.C. eventually reached the front of the compound. She frantically looked around. There was no sign of anyone. She looked on the ground. There was a shell of a bullet. She picked it up.

C.C. examined the bullet. Then, she began to call out Lelouch's name.

"Lelouch!" C.C. called out loud. "Lelouch!"

Rivalz heard C.C.'s voice. He was surprised upon hearing the word 'Lelouch'. He ran over to C.C.

"Hey, Celia, er, C.C.! Why are you screaming for Lelouch? Do you not know the story about him?"

C.C. looked at Rivalz. She struggled to find an answer. "Um, I'm going to be in a play. It's called 'The Rise and Fall of Zero'. I play Zero's mistress, and I was just rehearsing a line."

The story sounded okay. Rivalz looked on in suspicion. C.C. began getting worried that Rivalz did not believe her.

"...whoa! That sounds like an awesome play! Remind me to watch it!" Rivalz cheered as he walked back to the main campus. "Good luck!"

"Phew." C.C. was glad Rivalz fell for her story. She then looked back at the big house. "Lelouch...where are you?"

-

C.C. sighed. "Where is that idiot? I don't think he was killed. I didn't see any bloodstains anywhere..."

C.C. took out her cell phone. She then called Lelouch, who she gave a new cell phone to.

-I-

_Bzz! Bzz!_

Lelouch heard his phone buzzing. He looked at it. He saw that C.C. was calling. He snickered, and decided not to answer it.

_She's probably wondering what happened to me..._

-

_A Few Hours Earlier..._

Kallen stopped crying. She then shut her eyes and pointed her gun once again at Lelouch.

_...Is she...really going to kill me?_

Just as she was about to pull the trigger, Kallen pointed the gun away from Lelouch and pointed it at the house's wall.

_Bang!_

Kallen shot the gun. It made a very loud sound. However, instead of hitting Lelouch, the bullet hit the wall of the house. The shell of the bullet fell to the ground.

Kallen opened her eyes. She looked at Lelouch. She began to tear up again, and then she ran away.

"Kallen!" Lelouch called after Kallen. However, he didn't chase after her. He then saw the shell of the bullet, and examined it.

_She didn't kill me. Why, though? Is it possible, that even in death, I had her trust?_

Lelouch dropped the shell. He faced the house. He saw that one of the windows was open. He decided to climb into it.

-

_Let C.C. worry for a little bit. I want to see how she reacts._

Lelouch had been walking around the house for quite some time. He spent long periods of time reminiscing about each room.

Earlier, he went to the dining room. He thought back to the times when he would have dinner with Nunnally, and also about that particular incident where he walked in on C.C. teaching origami to Nunnally.

In the end, Lelouch saved the most reminiscent for last. He went upstairs. He walked down the hallway, and ended up at a very familiar door. He opened it.

Inside, was the remains of Lelouch's room. Lelouch was shocked at what happened to his room. He expected that everything would have been cleaned out and shipped off. Instead, he found something different.

Everything that Lelouch remembered was still there, all right. However, the room was completely messed up. The bed sheets were torn up, the drawers were rifled through, and the computer was turned on, with Lelouch's secret files exposed in the open.

_What happened here?_

Lelouch looked at everything. It did not appear that everything was stolen.

_It's like someone was trying to find something in here. But what?_

Suddenly, Lelouch heard a noise outside. He went to the window. He did not see anyone outside. However, he looked down on the side of the building. He saw a blonde woman in a blue suit climbing down the wall.

"Woman! What are you doing in this establishment?"

The woman looked up. She was shocked to see Lelouch. Slightly panicking, she dropped down to the ground immediately. She began to run away. Lelouch followed suit.

"Who are you?!? Answer me, damn it!"

The woman did not turn around. As he was running, Lelouch saw a box on the ground. It read 'The Box of Rivalz: Secrets Unimaginable!' He picked it up, noticed it was empty, and threw it at the blonde. She fell to the ground.

Lelouch dashed to her. He grabbed her by the shirt and picked her up. He then looked into her eyes.

A geass sigil appeared in Lelouch's left eye. _"I command you to tell me your reasons for breaking into Lelouch vi Britannia's room!"_

The woman stayed silent. She then began to chuckle. Afterwards, she proceeded to laugh at Lelouch.

Lelouch gasped. _Why isn't my Geass working on her? What could this mean?_

Lelouch let go of the blonde. "Who are you?"

The blonde laughed again. "I'm sorry, boy, but I'm afraid geass won't work on me."

Lelouch sucked in his breath. _She knows about geass! Who..._

The woman began to glow brightly. "Until next time...Lelouch."

Lelouch was shocked that the woman knew his real identity. He was going to yell at her, but in a great flash of light, she disappeared.

Lelouch stared at the spot where the woman was just a few seconds ago. _Who was that woman? If geass won't work on her, then..._

-II-

Nunnally, Suzaku, and Schneizel went into the meeting room. They sat down at the large table. Nunnally looked at the few other people who were meeting to discuss the matter. There was the Second Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, Cornelia li Britannia. Also sitting were Knights of the Round Gino Weinberg, now the Knight of Two, and Anya Alstreim, now the Knight of Five. Another prominent figure was Jeremiah Gottwald, an important leader in the government. Sitting next to Cornelia was her knight, Gilbert Guilford, who was successfully recovering. Special 'guests' were Prime Minister Kaname Ohgi, and his wife Viletta Nu.

"Officials, it is time to get this meeting underway!" Nunnally announced.

"I trust everyone knows about the topic, correct?" Suzaku-Zero asked.

"This is a very important matter. The Sigma Carta could prove very helpful, or very deadly to our nation." Cornelia said seriously.

"Allow me to read the principals of the Sigma Carta," Suzaku volunteered. He then picked up a copy of the Sigma Carta, and began reading the most important parts about it. "The Sigma Carta is an official amendment to the Doctrine of the Holy Empire of Britannia. The Sigma Carta shall make the ability for Britannia to continue capturing and colonizing various parts of the world and renaming them numbers 'null and void'. The Holy Empire of Britannia shall also return to the Euro Universe one-third of the land taken away from the EU _by_ Britannia. In return, the Euro Universe shall allow Britannia to have the support of the militaries of the one-third of the nations given back at any time it is necessary to Britannia. Lastly, as long of a period of Reconstruction of any nation related to Britannia is going on, all militaries of the nations related to the Reconstruction must lock down all Knightmare Frames until Reconstruction is complete. The Knightmare Frames can only be used during Reconstruction if it is absolutely necessary."

"This Sigma Carta...I'm not too sure of it. I'm a bit suspicious," Ohgi said with concern.

"Why are you here anyway?" Gino asked Ohgi.

"I'm the Prime Minister of Japan. Now that Japan and Britannia have made a pact to be allies, Japan is officially related to Britannia, as the Sigma Carta states."

"Boring..." Anya said, writing in her digital diary.

"Anya, put that device away at once! We are having an important meeting, and you can't be texting while the meeting is proceeding!" Cornelia yelled angrily.

"Whatever..." Anya boredly said as she put her device away.

"I support the first few parts of it," Jeremiah stated. "I believe it's fair if we give the EU back a third of their lands. Heck, we still have their military support anyway! However, the one I don't like is locking down Knightmare Frames. That seems very dangerous."

"I'll have to agree with Orange," Guilford said. "Locking down the Knightmare Frames leaves the Britannian Empire vulnerable and out in the open. It's simply dangerous."

"Did you understand the full extent of the Sigma Carta?" Viletta retorted. "It stated, 'all Knightmare Frames must be locked down unless it is absolutely necessary to use them'. Empress Nunnally must find that part favorable." Viletta then turned to Nunnally. "Isn't peace what you want to keep? If we pass this, we'll have peace with the world since we will no longer invade anybody."

Nunnally continued to think hard. There was a lot of pressure to pass the Sigma Carta.

"I don't know. Like I said, our choice could affect everyone. The Euro Universe was the empire who proposed this to us in the first place. Who knows how they will react, especially with their new and more powerful leader..."

"That's just it," Ohgi interrupted. "Can we trust that new leader? Can we trust him to keep his word?"

"Let's just pass it, for god's sake."

Everyone turned to Suzaku, who was the one who talked just then. "We pass it, definite peace. We don't, we got a hostile universe on our hands. I don't see why we need to discuss it."

Nunnally held her hand up. She was signaling for Suzaku to stop talking. She then began to talk.

"This is going to be very difficult. But as Empress of the Holy Empire of Britannia, I believe that the Sigma Carta shall be..."

Then, Nunnally stopped.

_What! Who's contacting me in my mind again? ...wait, it's you! We have to meet? Now?_

Everyone looked at Nunnally. They were waiting for what she had to say. Then, Nunnally spoke up again.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I really have something important to tend to. I'm sure it's not as important as this, but I really have to go!"

With that said, Nunnally turned on her electric wheelchair, and sped out of the room. Everyone, including Suzaku and Schneizel, looked as she disappeared from the meeting.

"What could be so important, she has to rush out of here?" Jeremiah questioned.

-

Nunnally went into another room, far away from the meeting room. This room was a tiny room that didn't have any cameras in it. She looked at the end of the room. There, a blonde woman in a blue suit waited for her.

-III-

_Bzz! Bzz!_

Lelouch was walking back to C.C.'s small house. He looked at his cell phone again. It was C.C. calling again.

"Hello?"

"Lelouch! Why haven't you been answering? I've been getting worried!"

"Really? The immortal witch is getting worried about _me?_" Lelouch said chuckling.

"I may be the witch, but you, my friend, are the bitch."

"Big words. Anyway, I'll be there in a few minutes. I've on my way there right now."

"Very well, then. By the way, we're having pizza for dinner today."

"WHAT?!? Come on, C.C., we always have pizza!" Lelouch then heard a dial tone. C.C. hung up on him. He then yelled to the sky, "I would have bought something else before I got back!"

-IV-

Nunnally went up to the woman. The woman noticed that Nunnally was showing slight signs of annoyance.

"What do you want? I was in the middle of a very important meeting."

"Yes, yes, I know that, princess. The Sigma Carta, blah blah blah, will it help us or destroy us, blah blah blah."

"Say what you want, but that document could change a lot. It's really important. Now tell me what you want to tell me so I can go back to the meeting."

"Your brother, Lelouch vi Britannia, is alive."

-V-

Vivian stood in the almost empty auditorium. The auditorium had many empty rows of seats, as well as a stage at the very front with a large television screen on the wall behind the stage. Vivian was impatiently waiting for the other three to come.

Vivian heard footsteps coming. She looked in the direction in which she heard the footsteps. There she saw the three men, Marsellus, Leonid, and Malthus, heading her way.

"It's about time you idiots got here! The superior ordered all of us to be here by the time he sent the master to talk to us! Do you realize what would've have happened to us if he saw that you were late?!?"

"I'm sorry, miss Artois," Marsellus said in a gentleman like fashion. "We had some private manners to attend to."

"Are they as important as the superior? I didn't think so!" Vivian angrily said in an outburst.

"Calm down, Viv. We're here now. That's what matters," Leonid calmly stated.

"Are you sure the superior is going to come?" Malthus asked uneasily.

"Of course he's going to come! He never lies about anything! You know how he's famous among the organization for being brutally honest!" Vivian pointed out.

A few moments later, a flash of light appeared on the stage. The four saw that it was a sign that the master was coming. Then, the master appeared onstage. The master wore a crimson red coat over a white shirt. He wore white pants and black shoes. He also had burning red hair. On his eyes, he wore a pair of sunglasses.

"I am here."

The four bowed down to the master. Vivian then spoke up.

"It is time, master."

"Indeed, it is. Tomorrow, you go to Ashford Academy and do your best to find _him_. The superior has commanded me to make sure you do this."

The television screen turned on behind the master. A faint silhouette of someone appeared on the screen.

"I trust you are ordering the four to do my commands, correct?"

"Yes, my superior. I shall do whatever you want." The master then took off his sunglasses. Under them, a pair of geass sigils appeared in his eyes. "Our contract orders it. I give you what you want..."

"...and I give you what you desire. Don't worry. I did not give you geass for nothing."

The master bowed down to the superior. "You can count on me, my superior. I won't go back on my word. I shall triumph victorious. For I am...De Odin von Abend."

**-The sixth chapter has ended. No preview today, so you'll have to wait for next time.**

**I want to let all of you know that I truly value my readers' opinions. Although I have already decided, what do you guys think? Should the Sigma Carta be ratified?**

**I want to give a special honorable mention to one of my readers, 'crimsonflamedhaze'. Congratulations, 'crimson'! I chose your idea for the mysterious person's identity! He's no so mysterious anymore, is he? To all others who gave ideas, I wish to thank you anyway for giving your thought into this story. Before I end this chapter,**

**THANKS ONCE AGAIN, 'CRIMSONFLAMEDHAZE'!!!!!!!!-**


	7. The Death of the Evening

Chapter 7: The Death of the Evening

_Date: August 16, 2020 a.t.b._

_Midnight_

The representatives were patiently waiting for Empress Nunnally to return from her odd absence. Gino and Anya decided to play some games on Anya's electronic device. Ohgi and Viletta were conversing about private manners involving Japan. Jeremiah and Guilford began arguing about Jeremiah's sudden switch from Lelouch's loyalty to Britannia's loyalty. Schneizel sat in a chair and was doing nothing. Cornelia went over to Suzaku-Zero to talk to him.

"So, Suzaku-"

"_I'm Zero._ As long as I wear this mask, I am the crusader known as Zero," Suzaku sternly said.

"Don't tell me you're still going on about that 'unmasked face' crap. Whether you want to believe it or not, you're still Suzaku."

"What do you want, Cornelia?" Suzaku abruptly asked.

Cornelia glared at him. "It's _Princess Cornelia_ to you. I've just been thinking about brother lately."

"Which one?" Suzaku said, looking at Schneizel.

"The demon." Cornelia said, dead serious.

"What about Lelouch?"

"I'm wondering if it was a good idea to tell the public about him," Cornelia answered.

"I assume you're talking about what we did half a year ago, when we told the public Lelouch's story. We told the public that the demon was once the leader of the Black Knights, but went rogue and became ruler of Britannia. We also revealed that I have chosen to rise in rank from Knight of Zero to Zero himself. I guess this explains why I still receive hostility from both Britannians and Japanese."

"I know all of that, Suzaku. It's just...I sometimes wonder if brother had any good inside of him at all," Cornelia stated sadly.

Suzaku looked at the others. They were not paying attention. He decided to tell her the truth.

"Princess, you understand the official story we told the world half a year ago, right?"

"I believe we went over this already, Suzaku," Cornelia irritatingly said.

"You don't know the truth. About the true goal of the Zero Requiem."

Cornelia looked at Suzaku in interest. "What about it?"

"You truly think Lelouch, in his heart, really wanted to be a tyrant? No."

"I'm afraid I'm not following."

"Lelouch, all his life, wanted to make a peaceful world for Nunnally. That was the entire reason he became Zero in the first place, so he could destroy Britannia and create a peaceful world. However, when you and Schneizel revealed the truth to the Black Knights, who then betrayed him, this threatened to stop his plan. But, he was still able to make it work." Suzaku then looked deep at Cornelia. "Don't you get it? He purposely focused the world's hatred on him! He purposely had me become the second Zero! He purposely had me kill him so the entire world would be overjoyed and live in peace! He did all of this...for the good of the world."

Cornelia sat back down at her table. She began crying. "I...had no idea...my brother..."

"He was the black demon. He was the dark king. But...similar to the Zero mask, those titles were another facade for his actions."

Then, just as Cornelia was going to say another thing, Nunnally hovered back into the meeting room.

"I'm sorry, everyone! I just had something _really_ important to oversee. And now, back to the matter. As Empress of the Holy Empire of Britannia, I declare that the Sigma Carta shall be..."

-

_Earlier..._

Nunnally looked in shock at the woman in the blue suit. She could not believe what she just heard.

"Wha-what do you mean!?! My brother is not alive!"

"That is because you did not see him." The woman turned away from Nunnally. "I was in his room just a few hours ago. Then, as I was getting out, I saw him. He even tried to use his geass on me!" The woman turned back to Nunnally. "He _is_ alive."

"But...wait, why were you in his room? What were you doing in there, _Nemo?"_

Nemo laughed and put her finger on Nunnally's forehead. "I just thought he was an interesting guy and wanted to find more about him."

**(Note: This Nemo has many differences from the Nemo in the "Nightmare of Nunnally" manga. The differences will be explained at the bottom.)**

"Are...are you sure he's alive?"

"I'm positive. I can assure you he is in or at least nearby the Ashford Academy campus. If you want, you can use your geass to make sure I'm not lying."

Nunnally immediately took both of her hands and covered her left eye. "I'm not using it! Not unless it is absolutely necessary!"

"Whatever. Suit yourself. I suggest you get back to your little meeting." Nemo then went to the door and opened it. "By the way, are you passing it or not?"

"I think the Sigma Carta should be..."

-

"...passed! I move that the Sigma Carta should be officially ratified!"

Everyone looked at Nunnally. Some of them were not sure what to say.

"I believe it's an excellent idea, my Empress!" Jeremiah said, agreeing with Nunnally.

"You only agree with her because she is the sister of the demon," Guilford grumbled.

"My relationships with everyone have been getting less hostile over these past few months. Let's not spoil it."

"Are you absolutely sure, Empress?" Ohgi asked with concern.

Nunnally nodded. "If there are no objections, the Sigma Carta shall be passed."

"Very well, then. Let's set up a date," Cornelia suggested.

"If I may," Nunnally began, "I believe the best date should be one week from now, on Friday, August 23. On that date, the Sigma Carta shall be officially put into effect."

"It's settled then." Suzaku walked away from the meeting table. "If you need me, I shall be in my office quarters. Schneizel, obey orders from Princess Cornelia until I return and command you to return to me."

"Yes, my master."

Suzaku then left the room. Cornelia looked at Schneizel, who was standing at attention.

"So you dumped him into my hands, huh?"

-I-

_Date: August 16, 2020 a.t.b._

_Morning_

C.C. woke up. It was time to go to school. However, today would be different. Today, the four supposed rebels would be transferring into Ashford Academy. Because she promised Nunnally she would watch them, she would have to be alert this school day.

As C.C. got dressed, she looked at Lelouch. He was sleeping soundly. He looked so peaceful, not like a demon at all. It seemed as if no one could wake him up...

"Hey! Wake up!"

C.C. threw Cheese-kun at Lelouch. Lelouch was startled and hopped up.

"What! What do you want!?!"

"It's time for school. Get dressed."

Lelouch groaned. He got up from bed and grabbed his Ashford Academy uniform, as well as his wig and contacts.

C.C. was looking at Lelouch oddly. Lelouch noticed this and looked at C.C.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is something wrong?"

C.C. went over to Lelouch and got on her knees in front of him. "There's something odd I've noticed over these past few days. For some reason, you've been actually listening to me. Why is that?"

Lelouch looked deep into C.C.'s eyes. He gave her a sincere smile. "I trust you, C.C. I am absolutely sure that you know exactly what you're doing. I believe in you."

C.C. chuckled and returned Lelouch's smile. She then went closer to him and gave him a very warm hug. "You are truly the only man I will ever love."

Lelouch chuckled. He wrapped his arms around C.C. and returned the hug. "I still think you're a witch."

C.C. looked at Lelouch and gave him an evil smile. "Doesn't everyone?"

-II-

C.C. and Lelouch were now in Ms. Courtese's classroom. In a few minutes, the 'foreign exchange students' would be arriving.

"I think it's finally time for me to tell you why I'm here."

Lelouch scooted closer to C.C. "I'm listening."

"The four exchange students. Empress Nunnally believes they might be part of a new underground rebellion that opposed both Britannia and _you_, when you were still alive. The Empress wants me to find out if that's true and report any suspicious activity."

"Ok, class! The moment you've been waiting for is here! Here are the foreign exchange students!"

"Leonid Hastings!"

Leonid walked into the classroom. He seemed like the bad-boy type. He had spiked black hair, and green eyes. He also wore sunglasses.

"Marsellus Belvidere!"

Marsellus walked into the room. He seemed like a gentleman. He had brown hair combed back, and wore glasses. He had brown eyes.

"Malthus Sunderland!"

Malthus came in. He looked quite nervous, and was slightly fidgety. He had gray hair combed to the side. He had light blue eyes.

Lelouch looked at the back of the classroom. He noticed five empty seats. Four were for the new students, but one was for a student who was absent.

_Hmm. It appears Kallen hasn't come back to school._

"And lastly, Vivian Artois!"

Vivian came into the classroom. She had long, light purple hair. Her large bust was easily shown through the uniform. She also had dark purple eyes.

Suddenly, C.C. made a silent groan. She clutched her forehead, and pressed her hands hard against it, as if it was bleeding.

_"C.C.! What's wrong?" _Lelouch whispered.

C.C. groaned again. _"It's that girl. The moment she walked in, the geass sigil on my head began burning. It was so painful, it almost seemed like it would have killed me. I almost forgot I was immortal when she came in..."_

Lelouch looked at the woman known as Vivian. He studied her face. "I have a feeling she's a lot more than a rebel..."

-

Malthus sat at one of the desks. The other three sat next to him. Malthus looked around the classroom.

_What is the superior hoping to accomplish with this? We don't even know what this C.C. person looks like! The superior...he hides so much stuff from us._

Malthus looked over at his three allies. Leonid and Marsellus were talking to each other about master De Odin and the superior. Vivian was looking out the window, completely ignoring the teacher's lessons.

Malthus looked around the classroom. He noticed the wide variety of humans scattered around the room. He also noticed a blue-haired boy trying to flirt with other girls. They rejected the boy, and pushed him out of his seat.

_Humans...They're such odd beings._

Malthus then noticed two students sitting at a table. One was a girl, and one was a boy. The girl appeared to be in pain. The boy was trying to calm her down.

"Um, excuse me miss? There appears to be a girl in pain."

Ms. Courtese looked over at the green-haired girl. She saw that what Malthus said was true.

"Oh, dear! Celia, you should go over to the nurse! Castor, you help her there."

"Alright," Celia mumbled as she got out of her seat.

"Come on. Let's go," Castor said as he helped Celia out of her seat.

As Celia and Castor left the classroom, Ms. Courtese went back to her lesson.

Vivian looked at Malthus with a dirty look. _"Enough with your good deeds, you sissy!"_

Malthus looked away from Vivian and stared at his desk.

_Why do I feel so different from my brethren?_

-III-

C.C. and Lelouch escaped from the campus. As they got farther away from Ashford Academy, C.C.'s pain went away.

"I don't get it, C.C. What about that girl made your geass mark start burning?"

"I don't know. I do know that if I continue going to school as long as that girl is there, the pain will cause my cover to be blown. But, if I don't go back, my promise to Nunnally will be broken..."

C.C. suddenly looked very sad. Lelouch then understood that C.C. had truly come to see Nunnally as her own darling little sister. Lelouch decided to help her out.

Lelouch touched C.C.'s hands. C.C. looked into Lelouch's eyes.

"You just stay at home. I'll do your mission for you. If it's for Nunnally...I'll gladly do it."

C.C. smiled. She took some papers out of her pack and handed them to Lelouch. "Thank you, Lulu. Anyway, these papers list all the possible data we could find on the four students. You need to find out if they are involved in any suspicious activity."

Lelouch took the papers and put them into his own pack. "I'll also try to find out what kind of possible connection they could have to geass."

C.C. nodded. "You do that." She then turned around and walked back to her little house.

Lelouch turned in the opposite direction. He now made a promise to C.C. And since that C.C. also made a promise, he indirectly gave a promise to Nunnally.

-IV-

The school day has ended. Malthus and the others transported themselves back to headquarters.

The four went to the auditorium once again. Right now was around the time the master did his weekly rant.

"God, why do we always have to listen to that stupid De Odin's rant? It's so useless! We could be spending this time trying to conquer the world!" Vivian complained.

"The superior told us that we have to listen to the master in order to keep him happy. We have to always follow the superior's orders, even if it means having to listen to the idiot master." Leonid calmly answered.

"I'm not really sure it's a good idea to complain this much. For all we know, De Odin might have put around cameras listening on to us," Marsellus said, warning the others.

"I don't think so. I would have detected it," Malthus meekly said.

"Talk louder, you! No one can hear you when you're so damn quiet!" Vivian yelled in an outrage.

"I'M SORRY!" Malthus said rather loudly.

Vivian groaned. She turned away from Malthus. Leonid also did the same, but Marsellus patted Malthus on the back.

"Don't worry about it. You know how she is."

Malthus nodded and looked at the stage, along with the others. In a few moments, De Odin arrived.

"Lelouch...Well? Have you found him yet?"

"Not yet, master," Vivian said, bowing. "But we are trying. It'll just take a little while longer."

"Well, hurry it up then! The superior demands that he be brought back here!" De Odin then looked to the television screen. "That's the whole reason I brought him back to life in the first place."

"If I may, master," Marsellus began, "why didn't you just bring his body back here after you cast geass on him?"

"The superior commanded that I didn't. He commanded me to just use my geass on him, then immediately leave. But...now he _is _commanding me to bring him back."

De Odin put his hands in the air. He then made them into fists. "I'm absolutely sure that the Sigma Carta will be passed. After it is ratified, and after the black demon is captured...the 'R Universe' shall take control."

**(RE R)**

_Malthus sits and talks to himself._

_"Does the RU..."_

_Nunnally speaks to Suzaku._

_"Suzaku, I have..."_

_Suzaku steps onto Kaminejima Island._

_"It may be happening again..."_

_The Next Stage, The Next Chapter: __**Geass Execution**_

**(RE R)**

**-Thank you everyone for reading this seventh chapter of RE R! Okay, as I said earlier in the chapter, I will explain Nemo's differences from the Nemo in "Nightmare of Nunnally":**

**1. In the manga, Nemo was a doll that was basically a clone of C.C. In RE R, she is merely another person and contract giver, not related to by blood or by cloning at all.**

**2. In the manga, Nemo's body and form is an albino version of Nunnally. In RE R, Nemo has the body of an older teenager, and appears to be a few years older than Nunnally, even though she is much, **_**much**_** older.**

**3. In the manga, only Nunnally could see Nemo. In RE R, everyone can see Nemo, just like how everyone can see C.C. **

**4. In the manga, Nemo and Nunnally appear to share one mind. In RE R, they have separate minds, like Lelouch and C.C.**

**5. In both the manga and RE R, Nemo possesses Nunnally's body when piloting the Mark Nemo Knightmare Frame, which will appear later on.**

**Another thing, I've made it so that in the universe of **_**this**_** story, only a few people know that Lelouch **_**planned**_** to sacrifice himself. These are C.C., Kallen, Nunnally, Suzaku, Jeremiah, the RU, and now Cornelia.**

**I want to say that these chapters have mostly been rising action and introductory chapters. However, don't worry. Pretty soon, the action will definitely get higher, and the mechas will soon be coming. Before then, please wait for the next chapter, and please review!-**


	8. Geass Execution

Chapter 8: Geass Execution

_Date: August 22, 2020 a.t.b._

Lelouch woke up and got up from his bed. He looked to his side. He did not see C.C. there.

Lelouch sighed. "That girl must have gotten C.C. really scared. For the past week, she's been disappearing at random times and going elsewhere."

Lelouch put on his uniform and his disguise. He then picked up his pack, and put the papers Nunnally gave C.C. into the pack.

_Nunnally...I'm sorry I haven't been able to figure out much this past week. But I guarantee you, I'll find out the secret behind these four beings._

Lelouch exited the small house. He then began making his way to Ashford Academy.

-

"This is going too slow!"

The four rebels were on school grounds. The boys were sitting on a bench, watching Vivian rant on and on.

"It's been nearly a week! Why haven't we found Lelouch yet? Leonid, aren't you able to sense those with geass?"

"It's not that simple, Viv," Leonid calmly said. "The subject has to be currently using his or her geass ability. Only _then_ can I detect them."

"The superior is getting frustrated with us. We have to hurry and find him. Otherwise, the R Universe's plans can't come into fruition."

"The RU can wait," Leonid scoffed. "We've been waiting for a few years, anyway! We just need our time in finding Lelouch."

Vivian stomped over to Leonid. She then grabbed him by the collar and threw him to the ground. Afterwards, she stomped on his hand. Leonid let out a yelp of pain.

"You think the superior wants to wait for a few more years? NO!!!" Vivian let go of Leonid. "If we don't hustle it up, I'm going to start interrogating students."

"You can't! That'll blow our cover!" Malthus exclaimed.

Vivian glared at Malthus. "I'll do what I want. I don't see you doing anything, you worthless member of our group."

Malthus shied away from Vivian. He looked away from the group.

_Maybe she's right. Does the RU...really need me in its ranks?_

-

Lelouch looked up from behind a bush. He noticed the girl, Vivian, yelling at the other three boys. Lelouch jotted down some notes.

"Vivian appears to be the leader. Leonid occasionally comes at odds with her. Marsellus appears to be the neutral man. Malthus appears shut off from the group."

"Yo, Castor!"

Lelouch turned around to where he heard the voice. He saw none other than Rivalz.

"Watcha doin? Spying on the new kids?"

"No, that's not it," Lelouch explained. "I dropped my notebook here, and I was just getting it back."

"Oh, okay. Anyway, I was just wondering if you wanted to join the Student Council. We don't have that much members right now."

Rivalz began muttering to himself. _Milly's a newswoman. Who knows where Kallen's gone. Shirley...I don't even want to think about it. Nina's off with the government. And Lelouch...he's, well, dead and Zero._

Rivalz stopped muttering. He smiled at Lelouch. "So, what do you say? You want to join?"

"That sounds like a great idea! Sure, I'll join!"

"Great!" Rivalz began running to the large Ashford Academy clubhouse. "First meeting of the year is during lunch! Come to the clubhouse during lunch!"

Lelouch waved at Rivalz. "I'll be there!"

-I-

Nunnally sat in her main office. She was on the phone.

"Miss C.C.? Have you figured out anything yet? ...oh, I see. Please hurry. I really need to know more about them."

Nunnally said her good-byes, and hung up the phone. She then faced away from the door.

A few minutes later, Zero came in. He then took off his mask, and showed Suzaku's face.

"You called me, Empress?"

"Yes...I did. Suzaku, I have to tell you something. Something I've been keeping secret from you for a very long time."

"What is it, Nunnally?" Suzaku asked, intrigued.

Nunnally stayed silent for a few more minutes. This did not bother Suzaku. He waited for her response.

"Suzaku, I have..."

-

It was the middle of second class. Malthus stared at the school bell, impatiently waiting for it to ring.

"Malthus? Malthus!"

Malthus looked at where the voice was coming from. It was from Ms. Courtese, the calculus teacher.

"Have you been paying attention, young man?"

"Uh...yes?"

"Then explain this linear function."

Ms. Courtese pointed at the board, which showed a graph and a myriad of equations. Malthus had no idea how to explain them.

"Gee, I have no idea what any of that means."

Malthus heard a sigh from behind him. It was from Vivian, who just raised her hand.

"How about you answer it, Vivian?" Ms. Courtese asked.

Malthus looked on as Vivian began rambling about functions and equations, none of which Malthus understood at all. Vivian finished her explanation with a smile on her face.

"Very good, Vivian." Ms. Courtese gave Malthus a stern look. "You could learn a thing or two from your fellow exchange student."

Malthus nodded and looked down at his feet. He then looked over at Vivian, who was reading out of her calculus textbook. Malthus sighed, and opened his own textbook.

_It may not be needed...but I'm tired of losing to Vivian._

During the rest of the class, Malthus furiously studied the calculus material, only to forget everything when the bell rang.

-

_Sigh..._

It was now lunchtime. Malthus was leaning against the clubhouse's wall, next to the drinking fountain. He looked over at the other three "students". They were trying to figure out how they would find Lelouch.

"Something up?"

Malthus looked down at the water fountain. Someone was taking a drink. It was Castor, one of his classmates in Ms. Courtese's class.

"No...nothing, Castor."

Castor patted Malthus on the back. "I'm pretty sure it's not nothing. Is it about that Vivian girl?"

Malthus took another look at Vivian. "She just...she's so cruel to me. She's always been cruel to me, ever since we came here."

"She's the leader of your group, huh?" Castor stated, not really as a question. He leaned on the wall next to Malthus.

"Pretty much. She gets all pissed when things don't go according to plan. She usually vents her anger on me."

"I see. That's rough."

"Hey, whatever happened to that Celia girl? Is she okay?" Malthus asked.

Castor suddenly looked nervous. "Uh, yeah. Thing is, she said she was going back to the Britannian homeland, and last Friday was actually her last day here."

"Oh. Ok."

Castor and Malthus stayed silent for a few more minutes. Then, Castor spoke up.

"Other than those three, you don't really have much friends, do you?"

Malthus stared down at his feet. Castor had pinpointed a major truth about his life. "Yeah. Even those three don't even act as my friends much, anyway."

"Well, how about I make you an offer," Castor said. "How about you join the Student Council?"

Malthus did not really know what to say. He had other private manners to go to, such as meetings at the RU and Complication Training. However, those things did not really need him anyway...

"Sure, Castor! I'll join!"

Castor gave Malthus a warm smile. "Perfect! The first meeting ended just now, but there'll be another one tomorrow at lunch!" Castor began walking away. "Don't forget!"

Malthus made a big smile, and waved Castor goodbye. He leaned back on the wall, feeling happy.

_What do you know. I made a friend._

-

"Suzaku...I have...geass."

Suzaku stared at Nunnally. He was shocked and surprised. He had no idea that Nunnally, of all people, had geass.

"Wha-huh? Since when?"

Nunnally turned around to face Suzaku. She had a strained face.

"About a week after the Zero Requiem was completed."

"You princess. What was the point in telling him?"

Suddenly, out of the shadows, a blonde woman appeared. This surprised Suzaku.

"Nunnally, who is this?"

"This is the woman I hold a contract with. Her name is Nemo."

Nemo laughed. She then bowed to Suzaku. "It is wonderful to meet you, Sir White Knight."

Nunnally covered her left eye. "My geass allows me and Nemo to read the lines of the future."

"The lines of the future...couldn't Bismarck do that?"

"Yes, but Bismarck could only read a certain person's lines. _I_ can read the entire future in general."

"What I don't understand...why are you telling me this?"

Nunnally faced away from Suzaku again. "Many things are happening now. Terrible things...shocking things. I have only used this geass once. I found out more about the future than I wanted to know. With it, I have discovered that the four rebels might be armed with geass."

"What!?!" Suzaku could not handle all of these surprises. "More geass?"

"Yes, and this time, they are not after good intentions like the ones my brother had. They could seriously do some damage to the world." Nunnally faced Suzaku again. Her face was very serious. "My new goal...is to find the rebels' base of operations. I must stop them, at all costs!"

-II-

"Ha! She really did that?"

Malthus and Castor were now leaving their fifth class. Malthus was telling Castor a story about Vivian.

"I'm serious! She got so mad at me afterwards!"

Castor laughed and patted Malthus on the back. "You're a good guy, Malthus. Don't listen to what that Vivian girl tells you."

_I'm afraid I've got no choice._ "I'll do that. Hey, Castor. You ever hear about the story of Emperor Lelouch?"

Castor slowed down his pace. "Yeah. I have."

"Well, what do you think about him? You agree with his methods, or not?"

"Are you kidding me!?! The guy was crazy! He would have ruined our lives if it weren't for Suzaku becoming the new Zero! Thank god for Suzaku!"

Castor was saying this with real emotion. Malthus smiled. _Guess he doesn't know about Lelouch being alive again._

"Next class for me is PE. I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in doing gym stuff. I'm skipping."

"You're skipping class, Castor? I thought you were the type that stayed and always followed the rules."

"No, that's lame," Castor walked away from Malthus. "Come up with an excuse for me, will ya?"

"Will do!" Malthus said, waving good-bye to Castor. He then set off to PE class.

-

"Okay, kids! We'll be playing a favorite: dodgeball!"

Many of the kids cheered. Many others groaned.

_No way I'm playing dodgeball. Vivian will make me her personal target. All the Complication Training back at headquarters have made her really violent..._

"Uh, sir, I need to go to the bathroom," Malthus stated.

"Hurry it up!" The PE teacher yelled.

Malthus yelped and ran away from the gym. He made his way to the restroom. Malthus ran some water in the sink and splashed the water on his face.

Malthus then looked at the wall. He saw that there was a window on it. He decided to look outside.

Outside, there was a pretty much empty campus. But then, he looked at a nearby tree. He saw someone leaning on it. He saw that it was none other than Castor.

_Castor...it's like you're begging to get caught._

Then, Castor began doing something strange. He put his hand on his blonde hair. He proceeded to peel it off, revealing that it was a wig.

_What the heck? Why does Castor wear a wig?_

Then, Castor revealed that his real hair color was brown. After that, he began poking in his eyes. Malthus eventually saw that he wasn't actually poking, but was taking off some contacts.

_I didn't know Castor wore contacts._

Then, Castor turned around. Malthus saw Castor's entire face. However, the face was not that of the person Malthus thought was his only friend in the entire academy. It was the face of the demon, former-Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia.

Malthus gasped. He staggered away from the window, and fell to the ground in shock. His heart was beating quickly, and he was sweating heavily. He could not believe what he just saw.

_I can't believe this! There is no such person as Castor rui Pollux. I never made a friend named Castor. The person behind this disguise...is my target, Lelouch vi Britannia._

-III-

"Ah, Suzaku! Welcome!"

Suzaku entered the 'Military Research and Development - 4th Division' building. There, he was greeted by none other than Lloyd Asplund.

"Good afternoon, Lloyd."

"Oh, come on Suzaku! Lighten up! And take off that mask of yours!"

"I don't think so," Suzaku said coldly.

"I agree with Lloyd. You should take your mask off."

Suzaku looked to where the voice was coming from. It came from Lloyd's subordinate, Cecile Croomy.

Suzaku sighed. "Fine." Suzaku then took off his Zero mask and set it on a table.

Lloyd clapped and laughed. "Wonderful!"

"How is my Knightmare coming along, Lloyd?"

"Well, I'm trying my best. But with the deadline of the Sigma Carta coming tomorrow, and the current Reconstruction of a few Britannian states in North America, it's not looking that well."

"Really?" Suzaku said, not believing him.

Lloyd proceeded to laugh again. "I'm just kidding, Suzaku! It's all ready! The Lancelot Magnus is fully prepared!"

Suzaku looked at the Lancelot Magnus, which was waiting for Suzaku to pilot it.

"How's this one different from the Lancelot Albion?"

"Well," Lloyd began, "for starters, more sakuradite has been added to improve performance. Another energy wing has been added to it, so it has four energy wings instead of three. Lastly, the Core Luminous has been further refined to add more power to your weapons. Other than that, it still has the same components as the Albion."

"Excellent." Suzaku proceeded to approach the pilot's seat, and went inside.

"If I may ask, Suzaku, where are you going?" Lloyd asked.

"Somewhere," Suzaku blatantly replied.

Lloyd shrugged. "Oh well, then. Open the ceiling!"

The ceiling began to open. Suzaku turned on the Lancelot, which began powering up. The Core Luminous's cube began rotating faster and faster.

"Goin' up!"

The Lancelot jumped up. When the Lancelot was in the air, Suzaku turned on the Float System, and the four energy wings sprung out. The Lancelot looked magnificent.

"Time to go."

Suzaku piloted the Lancelot, and began moving north, to an unknown area.

-

After a while, Suzaku reached his destination: Kaminejima Island. He landed the Lancelot onto the shore. He then opened the pilot's hatch, and got out of the Knightmare Frame.

Suzaku looked to the center of the island. There, his final destination waited for him.

_What could Nunnally have been talking about? What shocking thing could she have discovered?_

Suzaku walked to the center of the island. There, he found the ruins of an unidentified civilization. Suzaku looked around the familiar surroundings. Then, he walked over to another familiar structure: The Thought Elevator.

Suzaku walked up the steps. He found himself staring at the enormous vertical gateway. He remembered going inside a long time ago. He remembered standing by and watching Lelouch prevent the activation of the Ragnarok Connection. He also remembered Lelouch turning the world's collective unconsciousness on his parents, Charles and Marianne, thus killing them by engulfing them into nothingness.

"Been a while since I came here."

Suzaku placed a hand on the enormous doorway. Suddenly, red streams of light appeared on the doorway. Suzaku then felt a sharp pain in his head.

"Gah!"

Suzaku fell to the ground and clutched his head. It seemed like his memories were overloading inside him.

-

_Father, noooooo!!!_

_I appoint you, Suzaku Kururugi, my new knight!_

_Suzaku, how is my brother doing?_

_Lelouch, your very existence is a mistake, a mistake I intend to correct!_

_Suzaku, you are to kill me. When I die, the world will be at peace. This...is the Zero Requiem._

-

"Enough!"

Suzaku jumped away from the Thought Elevator. The Elevator's lights continued shining red, with no signs of stopping.

_What could this mean? Why..._

Suzaku turned away from the Elevator. He began walking back to the Lancelot Magnus on the beach.

_A new rebellion is rising up. This time, it has different intentions from the one Lelouch created. We have a new war on our hands. With geass...it may be happening again..._

**(RE R)**

_C.C. runs into Nemo._

_"Long time, no see."_

_Nunnally announces the ratification to the entire world._

_"I officially put the Sigma Carta..."_

_A nervous Malthus contemplates._

_"For the RU? Or for a friend..."_

_The Next Stage, The Next Chapter: __**Ratification**_

**(RE R)**

**-Chapter 8 - complete! When explaining the Thought Elevator and the Lancelot Magnus, I made have made some mistakes with the terminology and definitions. If any of you guys see some mistakes in the content in relation to the actual series, please point them out! Other than that, thank you for reading and please review!-**


	9. Ratification

Chapter 9: Ratification

_Date: August 23, 2020 a.t.b._

C.C. looked around. There was no one other than herself on the beach. She sighed and walked deeper into the island. She eventually came upon the ruins of the unknown civilization.

C.C. touched a pillar. As she touched it, the geass sigil on her head began glowing red. She felt old memories being reawakened in her memory. Memories of others similar to herself. Memories of time with Marianne. Memories of V.V. Memories of _him..._

C.C. took her hands off of the pillar. Her geass sigil stopped glowing.

_No...I don't want to remember him anymore. Why must you bring these memories back into my mind..._

C.C. walked deeper into the ruins. She eventually came upon the Thought Elevator. She was surprised to see its lines glowing red.

"What's this?"

"Well, well, well. If it isn't C.C."

C.C. turned around. She saw a blonde woman walking towards her. She recognized this woman.

"Nemo...long time, no see."

Nemo chuckled. "Ah, C.C. Where have the years gone?"

"Nowhere. As you can see, even after these past hundreds of years, we still look like our young selves."

"You can't even take a joke, can you? So how are you doing with your demon prince?"

C.C. put her hands into fists. She scowled. "You know about him?"

"We had a little run in incident at his old Ashford Academy home," Nemo said. "He seemed very powerful, C.C. I don't understand why you didn't just have him take your code so you could finally die."

C.C. closed her eyes. "I couldn't let him do that. If he could no longer die, then he couldn't have accomplished his Zero Requiem. He would have never forgiven me." C.C. opened her eyes again. "What about you?"

Nemo sighed. She went up to the steps of the Thought Elevator and sat down. "I'm having the same problem as you. I wish to die as well, but for some reason, I've grown extremely attached to my new client."

"Now that's a predicament. Who is your client?"

"Her highness herself, Empress Nunnally vi Britannia."

C.C. was clearly shocked. She had no idea... "Nunnally?!? _She_ has geass, out of all people?"

"Indeed. Now, I am overseeing her plan to find the rebels' base of operations. By the way, C.C.," Nemo began, as she walked up to the doors of the Elevator. "Why is the Thought Elevator acting like this?"

"I don't know. It shouldn't be glowing. The Sword of Akasha is no longer functional. Since the Elevator is an entrance to the Sword, _it_ shouldn't be working either."

"There's only one explanation."

Nemo turned around to look at C.C. She looked dead serious. "The Elevator is now going to be the entrance to another dimension."

C.C. did not want to believe it. "No...if that were to happen, the world will be doomed."

"I'm afraid that I'm right. It may be creating a doorway to _there..."_

C.C. went up to the doors. She placed her hands on it. The moment she did so, the geass sigils on her head and on her upper breast began burning. She let out a cry of pain and backed away from the door.

C.C. now looked grim. "It's creating a doorway to the opposite of C's World...it's creating an exit and entrance to R's Dimension..."

-I-

Nunnally and Zero walked down the hallway. They were currently in Ambrosius Palace, where they had been doing their meetings and working. They were preparing to go outside and meet with the leaders of Britannia-related nations, where they would finally ratify the Sigma Carta. The ratification would be seen on the news around the entire world.

"It's a shame about Pendragon. Those poor people..." Nunnally sadly said.

"It's already been a long time Nunnally. We can't do anything for Pendragon or its former citizens anymore. We now have to worry about the citizens of Britannia's new Imperial Capital, Ambrosius," Suzaku said.

"I know...it's just, even to this day, I think about it, and what I could have done..."

"We can't think about the past anymore. We must think about the future, and prevent this geass rebellion from happening."

Nunnally nodded. She and Suzaku continued their walk to the outside in silence. When they finally reached the area where the ratification would occur, they saw several representatives of the nations related to Britannia. They would all sign the Sigma Carta, which would hereby put it into effect.

Nunnally made a serious face. "It's time."

-

Today, Ashford Academy was using a special schedule. First class would be an hour longer so that the Sigma Carta ratification on the news could be seen by all. Vivian, Leonid, and Marsellus waited anxiously for the news to begin. Malthus seemed uninterested.

Malthus looked at Castor, who was sitting a few seats in front of him. Just the other day, Malthus found out Castor's secret. Castor was just his disguise, and his true identity was Lelouch vi Britannia, Malthus's group's target. Had Malthus been more loyal to the R Universe and the superior, he would have quickly captured Cast-er-Lelouch and brought him to the superior. However...

Malthus continued looking at Lelouch. Malthus grew increasingly distressed. Lelouch had treated him like a friend. But then, what if Lelouch knew about his identity as one of the rebels? His gestures of friendship could have been equally fake as they were real.

Malthus didn't have any friends before. Marsellus acted nice to him, but seemed more loyal to Vivian. And Vivian and Leonid didn't care much for him. Despite him being in the superior's most elite squad, he couldn't help but feel unwanted.

In fact, Malthus had begun to question the superior's motives altogether. He was not sure if the plan would help anyone besides the superior. The superior claimed his ideals were the best for everyone. He claimed that when they win, everyone will live in paradise on Earth. Everyone believed he was brutally honest...but even honest people lie every once in a while.

Malthus groaned. He clutched his head. His thoughts and contemplations were severely stressing him out.

_I don't know what to do! Turn in Lelouch? Or follow my opinions, and go against the superior? For the RU? Or for a friend..._

Suddenly, Lelouch appeared in the seat next to Malthus.

"Hey, Malthus. Something wrong?"

Malthus turned away from Lelouch. He did not wish to see his face. "No, nothing's wrong, Castor."

Lelouch chuckled. "You are really horrible at lying. Come on, man. I'm your friend. Tell me what's wrong."

"Seriously, Castor. Could you just leave me alone?"

Lelouch leaned back on his chair. "Ok, if you won't talk, I'll talk. You know the Recreation Center near the Omotesando Mall? I'm gonna be in a play called 'The Rise and Fall of Zero'. I'm gonna play the demon emperor!"

Malthus looked back at Lelouch. "You're playing Zero?"

"Yeah. You know, I never told you this, but this is a wig," Lelouch said, pointing to his blonde hair. "My natural hair is blonde, but I dyed it brown so I could really get into character. I want to keep it a surprise for everyone else, that's why I'm wearing this wig to hide my now brown hair."

Malthus looked at Lelouch/Castor/Who The Hell Knows?!? with an odd face. He was skeptical of his story.

"Look, I've even got a script here," the person said, handing Malthus the script.

Malthus took a good long look at the script. It chronicled the most important events of Zero/Lelouch's life. It involved his first appearance as Zero when he saved Suzaku, the Black Rebellion, the throwing-away of his mask in order to become Emperor of Britannia, and his eventual death at the hands of Suzaku the Second Zero.

"Whoa...you have to remember all of these lines?"

"Yeah. It's a hassle, but I enjoy being in the play."

Malthus handed the script back to the person. He began thinking again. _His story sounds legit. He's even got an actual script to back up his story. I can tell it's an official script since it has the Recreation Center's official seal on it. But...can I really trust him? Is he really Castor?_

Malthus looked back at the person. He smiled. "Sorry I'm acting so weird, Castor. You know how I am."

"No worries," _Castor_ said, patting Malthus on the back. "The news is starting! Let's see what's the hassle about this Sigma Carta business."

Malthus leaned back on his chair and looked at the television set. _Despite the fact that I have accepted Castor's story, there will always be a hint of doubt..._

-II-

"Hello to everyone! I'm Milly Ashford, your Britannia newswoman! Today, a major event shall be occuring. We are live here at the New Britannian Imperial Capital of Ambrosius, where Britannia and the Euro Universe will be creating a truce by signing together an important document known as the Sigma Carta. Her highness herself, Empress Nunnally vi Britannia, the president of the Euro Universe, and representatives of many other nations are here today to all sign their names on the Sigma Carta. Oh, here is her highness herself!"

Milly handed the microphone over to Nunnally. "Thank you, Milly. Britannia...U.F.N...Euro Universe...we are all here to witness a historic moment. Our days of conflict can now cease. Because today, after the signing, I officially put the Sigma Carta...into effect!"

Many cheers were heard. Even students and teachers in Ashford Academy cheered.

"And now, with the nations' signatures, this amendment shall be set in stone!"

The nations' representatives all proceeded to put their signatures on the Sigma Carta. Eventually, Nunnally became the second-to-last person to sign her name.

"We have but one signature left to sign. The president of the Euro Universe unfortunately could not make it here in time. However, we have contacted with him, and he sent us a paper containing his printed signature. This signature shall be sewn onto the Sigma Carta," Nunnally explained.

Nunnally took out the sacred slip of paper that held the president's name. She began to sew it onto an empty spot on the document.

"The final signature! Regulus R. Radcliff, President of the Euro Universe, has completed the Carta!"

-

Malthus looked at the screen. He frowned at the slip of paper that had the president's signature.

_Regulus R. Radcliff is not your real name. Your real name is De Odin von Abend._

-

Nunnally brought the microphone up to her mouth.

"As of right now, the Sigma Carta is in full effect!"

Suddenly, shots began raining down on the city. Some of the spectators were killed by the gun shots. The representatives were able to remain safe.

"What the hell is going on?!?" Cornelia angrily yelled out.

"There are Knightmare Frames attempting to kill everyone!"

Cornelia looked up into the sky. She saw an army of Knightmares. They appeared to be remodeled versions of Sutherlands and Gloucesters that could fly.

"Did no one detect these Knightmares!?!"

"No! It's like they appeared out of nowhere!"

Then, one of the Knightmares aimed a large handheld assault rifle at Nunnally. Suzaku managed to get her out of her chair before the gunshots hit her.

-

Vivian chuckled as she looked at the screen. She and the other three were staying calm while everyone was panicking. That Castor kid appeared to be particularly worried about the Empress.

_This is all part of the plan. We will bring Lelouch out...by killing his beloved sister._

-

"Nunnally, we have to get back in the palace! Those things are aiming for you!"

"No! I am no longer going to stand idly by when more people are being killed!"

"What can you do?!?" Suzaku frantically asked.

"Nemo!"

The blonde woman appeared in front of Suzaku and Nunnally. She grinned. "Is it time?"

"I'm...ready to use it!" Nunnally said as the geass sigil appeared in her eye.

"Hehe." A geass sigil appeared in Nemo's own eye. When no one but Suzaku and Nunnally were looking, she lifted her arm into the air. A bright flash of pink light engulfed her and Nunnally. Suzaku looked on in confusion.

When the light faded away, something stood in its place. It was a Knightmare Frame, but its structure appeared strangely humanlike.

"Get ready, rebels! When the Mark Nemo comes into play, there's no hope for you!" Nemo/Nunnally declared.

The Mark Nemo ran and jumped over to a group of six Sutherlands.

"Taste my Blonde Knives!"

The Mark Nemo activated its Blonde Knives, which are remote wired rocket anchors. They possessed sharp blades at the very ends. The Sutherlands attempted shooting at the Mark Nemo, but it easily and acrobatically dodged the attacks. It let the Knives loose, which penetrated the six Knightmares right in their centers. In a matter of seconds, the Knightmares exploded.

"Don't mess with me!"

Nemo/Nunnally looked around and still saw about twenty Knightmares in the air. They chuckled at the sight. "This is going to be too easy."

The Mark Nemo pulled out its N-Katana **(not actual name of the katana)**. This katana would prove to be a deadly weapon, as it could cut through nearly any object.

-

Vivian was seething. She grinded her teeth and tried her hardest to hide her anger. This mysterious new Knightmare was ruining everything.

-

The Mark Nemo activated a system that was similar to a Float System. This would allow it to fly. It flew up, and pointed its katana at the remaining rebel Knightmares. With incredible speed, the Mark Nemo dashed to the Knightmares. Using the N-Katana, it cut about eight Knightmares in half, completely demolishing them. Some of the Knightmares tried to surprise the Mark Nemo by attacking it from behind. However, due to Nemo/Nunnally's geass, they already saw this coming. Without turning around, the Blonde Knives were activated. They homed in on the sneak attack Knightmares, and pierced all of them in the chest. They exploded shortly after.

One Knightmare was left. The Mark Nemo turned around to face it. The last Knightmare appeared to be similar to a Euro Knightmare, but still contained some differences. It shared a few similarities with the Euro Knightmare Frame, the Wurfrahmen-Hetzer.

The W-H activated a Hadron Cannon. It aimed the cannon at the Mark Nemo. Should it hit, the Mark Nemo would suffer heavy damage. However, Nemo/Nunnally saw this coming. The Knightmare barely dodged the attack, getting small damage on the feet.

"You're pissing me off. It's time to kill you!" Nemo/Nunnally (mostly Nemo) called out.

The Mark Nemo dashed forward, with its katana ready to cut the enemy in half. The W-H pulled out a weapon similar to a Maser Vibration Sword. The two Knightmares' swords clashed. The W-H managed to block a few of the attacks, but eventually, the N-Katana completely destroyed the MVS. The W-H was now helpless. The Mark Nemo showed no mercy for it. It cut the W-H right down the middle, obliterating it for good.

-

Malthus saw that the mysterious Knightmare had won the battle. He looked over at Vivian. He heard a low growling coming from her. Leonid and Marsellus also appeared angry, but not nearly as angry as Vivian. Malthus analyzed his own feelings. He was surprised that he didn't feel anger that the Knightmare ruined the plan, but he also didn't feel happiness, either.

-

Everyone at Ambrosius Palace stared in awe at the Knightmare that saved the people, even though a few citizens were killed. The Knightmare pointed its arm at the sky. An extremely bright flash of pink light appeared. Everyone was blinded and could not see anything.

"The mysterious Knightmare has conjured up a flash of light! No one can see anything! Could the Knightmare be attempting to run away?" Milly said to the camera.

When the light subsided, everyone could see again. They looked around, but the Knightmare was nowhere to be seen.

During the flash of light, Nemo separated from Nunnally and sent the Mark Nemo away. She put Nunnally back onto her chair, and whisked her and Suzaku into the palace doors. Suzaku was amazed at the events he just saw.

"Nunnally...I had no idea you could pilot a Knightmare Frame like that! Your attitude during the fighting also seemed a bit different than usual."

"I can't be kind to everyone anymore. I now accept that there is evil in the world, and the only way to stop them is to kill them."

Nemo laughed and patted Nunnally on the head. "Now that's my princess! I think she takes after me! So, would you have called that incident an 'absolutely necessary' incident?" Nemo asked, indirectly talking about the Sigma Carta's principles.

Nunnally nodded. "Yes, but it doesn't matter. We completed Reconstruction on the final Britannian state in North America just this morning, so it was okay to be piloting a Knightmare."

"There are going to be questions. We better get back out there," Suzaku stated.

"Well, _you two_ are going out there. _I'm_ going to take a nap," Nemo said as she walked deeper into the palace.

"Let's go."

Nunnally and Suzaku walked back outside. Cornelia immediately ran over to Nunnally and gave her a hug. "Oh, dear sister! I was so afraid we lost you again!"

"I'm fine, Cornelia." Cornelia let go of Nunnally. Nunnally then went back up to the microphone. "Citizens of the world! I fear that there are some new challenges awaiting us. I believe the attacks today were caused by either people who oppose the Sigma Carta, or people who simply despise the entire world. However, I can assure you, we _will_ protect our citizens! Not only do we have an excellent and well experienced military, but now it appears we have a mysterious new ally who will fight for us!" Nunnally took the Sigma Carta document, which was surprisingly not destroyed during the battle. She held it high in the air. "For Britannia! For the Euro Universe! For the world!"

Huge rounds of applause rang out from the spectators at the palace. Even the representatives clapped for Nunnally.

"There you have it! The Sigma Carta is now set in stone! We may have a new enemy on our hands, but Empress Nunnally assures us she will protect us! I knew her highness herself from before she became the ruler of Britannia, and I assure that she will definitely stay true to her word! I'm Milly Ashford, and I'm signing out."

-III-

"Man...that was wild! What did you think, Malthus?"

Malthus looked at Castor. "That...was unexpected."

"I know, right?!? Good thing the Empress wasn't hurt."

Malthus began to say something else, but Marsellus went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "At lunchtime, we are meeting."

-

"What the hell just happened?!?"

Vivian, once again was ranting. The three boys looked at her. Malthus couldn't help but think about her similarities to master De Odin.

"It looks like some people knew about the rebellion before the Empress announced it to the entire world," Leonid said.

"This is a problem. Lelouch still hasn't stepped out into the open. We must hurry, or the superior will be very angry," Marsellus said worriedly.

"..."

Vivian looked at Malthus. "You know, the whole point of a meeting is to talk. Don't you have anything to say?"

"Uh...well..."

"Of course you don't! You haven't done anything to help our plans ever since we came to this school! All you've done lately is hang out with that Castor kid."

Malthus stood up from his seat. "That's cause he's my friend! All four of us may be allies, but that doesn't mean we're friends!"

Vivian grabbed Malthus by the collar. She brought his face up to her face. "We're not here to make friends. We're here to find Lelouch."

Vivian threw Malthus to the ground. He glared at her for a second and then got back up to his seat.

"Vivian, you're the only one who knows. Why does the superior need Lelouch?" Leonid asked.

Vivian faced away from the boys. "Because...Lelouch is the only person who can turn the Thought Elevator on Kaminejima Island into a doorway to R's Dimension."

**-Thank you everyone for waiting so patiently for me to finish Chapter 9! I'm sorry that it's been two weeks since I've updated. For my junior high graduation, I got a PSP and two games (Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and Rock Band Unplugged), so I've been spending a lot of time playing them. Also, some of you may have noticed that in addition to my Pokemon fanfic, I have recently added a Yu-Gi-Oh! GX fanfic. You must think I'm crazy to have three stories to constantly update, but I assure you, I will not, repeat NOT leave this story or any of my other stories unfinished!-**


	10. Free Will

Chapter 10: Free Will

_Date: September 19, 2020 a.t.b._

Vivian was waiting impatiently in front of the large screen in the auditorium. She paced back and forth, and was growing increasingly stressed at the waiting time. Finally, static appeared on the large screen.

"You have called me, Vivian?"

"My superior," Vivian began as she knelt down on one knee, "we are failing you. It has been one month, and we haven't a clue to who Lelouch is masquerading as. We've inspected every single inch of Ashford Academy, and stalked every single suspicious student. Despite this, he still remains elusive. Are you absolutely sure that Lelouch is located in Ashford Academy?"

"You want to know how much I really believe he is there? 110 percent."

"If so, why can't you send master De Odin, or yourself to come here?"

"De Odin must keep up his image as the Euro President, Regulus R. Radcliff. It would be very suspicious if he were to suddenly appear in the Academy. I, however, have no means of transportation from R's Dimension to Earth. The most I can do is communicate with our organization and perform mere portions of my powers on Earth."

"What about the other three and I? Can't we do any more?"

"You four must also keep up your image. Empress Nunnally and the other nations of the world are practically aware of our organization's existence due to the failed attack on her highness at Ambrosius. Plus, with the attack occuring shortly after you four transferred to the Academy, you are also possible suspects."

"..."

Vivian stayed silent. She stood up on her feet and bowed to the large screen.

"Very well then. We will continue to do what we have been doing. Though, I wish to ask one more question. Why did you not just have De Odin bring Lelouch back here the moment he brought him back to life?"

"De Odin had to use 99% of his max power to bring the powerful Lelouch back to life. And even with De Odin's power, it took two days for it to take effect. I commanded him to wait until Lelouch's geass had reached near maximum power again. Now that it has, it is time to capture him. I have answered your question. You may go."

Vivian nodded and walked away. The superior said one last thing.

"Don't worry. I speculated that it would take this long to find him. The important thing is for all of you to keep up your image, and for Lelouch to be brought back here before January 5th, 2021."

-I-

_Date: September 20, 2020 a.t.b._

"Man, this is getting to be a real drag."

Castor was walking with Malthus to sixth class. Castor was complaining about the unfortunate events occuring.

"I thought that the Lelouch guy was the last threat to our world. Now we've got some new rebel organization on our tails, and this time, their attacking every single world nation! There've been three more attacks here in Japan this month! Good thing there's no major Reconstruction going on."

"Yeah, I guess," Malthus said silently.

"You know, Malthus, those other three friends of yours are really creeping me out. They act all weird and junk. Hey, what if they're part of the rebels?"

Malthus looked at Castor as if he was insane. "You're basically saying that I'm a rebel as well!"

Castor laughed and punched Malthus on the arm. "I'm just messing with you!"

Malthus quietly laughed along. "So, I saw your play yesterday. I guess you were telling the truth when you said you were acting as Lelouch in the play."

"Yep! I thought I did pretty good!"

"Uhuh! By the way, why are you still wearing that blonde wig?"

Castor picked at the wig. "Cuz the brown dye on my hair won't wash off for some reason. It's still brown, with only a few specks of blonde appearing. I'll look stupid!"

Eventually, Castor and Malthus found themselves at the doors of the gym. Castor looked at the doors with a dirty look, and then looked at Malthus.

"I'm skipping again."

"Again?!? That's the third time this week!"

"Eh, what's the worst they'll do to me? See ya!" Castor said as he ran away.

Malthus shook his head. "Man, humans can be so odd."

-

Using his developing physical abilities, Lelouch managed to sneak away from Ashford Academy without being caught. He eventually arrived at C.C.'s small house. He entered, and saw C.C. (once again) eating pizza.

"You skipped P.E. again, huh?"

Lelouch took off his wigs. He also took off his contact lenses and put them back into their container. Two geass sigils are visible in both of his eyes.

"It seems to have only taken a short amount of time for my geass to reach maximum power again."

"Yes... So, have you figured more about those four?"

Lelouch chuckled. "Every once in a while, three of them would stalk me. I act as Castor when this happens so that I don't give them a single clue to my identity. However, they don't know that they have their own stalker. I have figured out quite a lot. Apparently, they need to find something before January 5th."

C.C. stopped chewing on her pizza. _That's the day I left him..._

"By the way C.C., tell me about R's Dimension."

C.C. set down her pizza. She was surprised Lelouch found out about the Dimension.

"They frequently bring it up in their conversations. Sounds a little ominous if you ask me."

C.C. lay down on the bed. Lelouch sat down next to her.

"...R's Dimension is the opposite of C's World. The Dimension contains evil identities and wicked contractors. However, two hundred years ago, the doorway to R's Dimension was sealed up, so the souls of R's Dimension could no longer roam the Earth."

"While C's World is based upon the human unconsciousness and memories, R's Dimension is based upon the human emotion and the human will."

"I see. Now, why do you think those four would be talking about that?" Lelouch inquired.

"I'm...not too sure," C.C. replied. However, if one took a closer look at C.C.'s face, one could see that she knows more than Lelouch thinks.

"Thank you. Now if you excuse me, I think I'm going to take a break at the mall. Even demons have to rest every once in a while."

Without another goodbye, Lelouch walked out of the door, putting his wig back on. As soon as Lelouch was very far away from the house, C.C. stood up. She took a deep breath and attempted to tap into a telepathic link that she had not used for two hundred years.

-II-

Malthus took a seat at a table in the Pizza Hut restaurant. He was tired from following Vivian's orders and doing unnecessary things, so he decided to take a break. As he ordered a slice of cheese pizza, he noticed Castor walking into the restaurant.

"Malthus! I thought I could find you here."

"Hey, there. Are you stalking me or something?"

Castor laughed and laughed. "Don't be ridiculous! I don't roll that way!"

Malthus chuckled. As he was about to order another pizza slice for Castor, Castor stopped him.

_"Don't. I'm kinda sick of pizza," _Castor whispered.

Malthus nodded, and the two walked over to a table.

"You know, you've been acting gloomy again. You're not joking as much as usual. You're turning back into the awkward Malthus that no one talks to."

"Sorry, Castor. I've got a lot on my mind."

"If it's about Vivian, or any of those other exchange students, I'm getting real tired of it."

Malthus looked down at his pizza. He remained silent.

"You have to know that you shouldn't let other people control your life. You need to make your own decisions. You need to use your free will."

Malthus froze at the thought of 'free will'. _That was his mistake...giving the four of us free will._

"Well, what if I don't know what to do? What if I don't know what decisions to make? What if my free will tells me that following others is the best way to go?"

"You know what? Suck it up!"

Malthus flinched at Castor's sudden outburst. Castor calmed himself down.

"You'll never have a good life if you remain a robot that always follows orders. You need to be individual. You need to use your free will...to be human."

Malthus put his hand on his chest. _My free will...can make me human?_

"Don't let anyone or anything block you from what you are. Follow your heart. Synchronize your heart and your free will. When they work beside each other as equals, you'll be an individual."

Malthus let Castor's words sink in. Suddenly, he felt like his body was coming very close to making a decision. He stood up from the table.

"Thanks a lot, Castor. I've got a lot to think about now."

Castor saluted Malthus as he walked out of the restaurant. Malthus walked out of the restaurant with a new outlook on the concept of 'free will'.

-III-

Schneizel was quietly sitting down at his desk in his office. He was working on some paperwork involving the U.F.N.'s Black Knights military. Master Zero had ordered him to complete the work by the end of the day.

_I live to serve Master Zero. I live to serve Master Zero. I live to serve Master Zero. I live to serve Master Zero._

Just as Schneizel was about to finish his work, the door to his office opened. A blonde woman in a blue suit entered.

"Did Master Zero send you here?"

The woman did not say anything. She took out a gun and pointed it at Schneizel's head. Schneizel closed his eyes.

_Forgive me, Master Zero._

With a single gunshot, Schneizel fell out of his chair. He was dead.

-

Nemo sighed and put the gun back into her pocket. She went over to the dead prince. She cleaned up the blood that was on the floor.

"Finally, this annoying guy is done for."

After she was finished cleaning up, Nemo picked up Schneizel and held him in bridal position. She was surprisingly strong. With a flash of pink light, she teleported away from Ambrosius Palace. She teleported herself to Japan, to a cremation center. When no one was looking, she went over to a furnace and stuffed Schneizel's body into it. Afterwards, she rubbed her hands and smiled. Her work was done.

-

Nemo returned to Ambrosius Palace shortly after. She was about to go to Nunnally, when she ran into Suzaku.

"Why, hello there, Suzaku! How wonderful to see you!" Nemo said with obvious irony in her voice.

"You don't happen to know where Schneizel is, do you?" Suzaku said with a very serious tone.

"Why would I know _anything_ about that annoying prince who will jump for hoops for you? Why would I know anything about that person who would ruin the world if Zero were to disappear? Why would I know anything about that guy that I've wanted to kill for so long?" Nemo ranted.

"Why did you do it? Why did you kill him?" Suzaku demanded.

"For those reasons that I just told you. And, since he's now dead, you don't have to be ol' gloomy Zero/Suzaku anymore!"

Suzaku remained silent. He turned away from Nemo.

"You're wrong."

"Huh?"

"Things can _never_ go back to normal, even if Schneizel is dead. People will never look at me with a friendly face ever again, even if I take off this mask. _I_ can't even look at myself the same way! ...Plus...this is my end of the bargain on the Zero Requiem. Lelouch dies, and I sacrifice my eternal happiness. Basically, I'm dead anyway.

Nemo groaned. "Boooring! You are so annoying, you know that? It's no wonder I didn't kill you instead!"

Suzaku still remained silent.

"You know that day, when you and Nunnally and the others met to discuss the Sigma Carta? I saw you in you office. I bet I could interpret what you were thinking."

Suzaku turned around. He was confused about what Nemo said. Nemo began pacing back and forth. She was saying her thoughts about Suzaku out loud.

"Let's see, you were probably thinking about Lelouch since you were fixating your eyes on that mask. So, you hated and loved him, blah blah blah, you hated and became Zero, blah blah blah, your unmasked face is one of the few things keeping you emotionally alive, blah blah blabbity blah!"

Suzaku grabbed Nemo's collar. He lifted her off the ground. "You got a lot of nerve. My thoughts are personal!"

Nemo laughed. "_I _got nerve?!? You're the one contradicting yourself! Back then, you were protecting your unmasked face with your life! Now, instead of exposing your unmasked face to the world, you choose to suffocate it by keeping the Zero mask! My friend, _you_ got nerve!"

Suzaku could not take it. He punched Nemo right in her face. She fell to the ground. Some blood was coming out of her mouth, but due to her immortal status, it didn't even phase her.

"Go ahead. Hit me all you want. You know I'm right."

Suzaku stormed away from Nemo. Even as he reached his office, far away from Nemo, her laugh ringed in his ears. He took off his mask, and desperately pushed his hands against his ears. It did not work, as the laughs were getting louder, and louder, and louder, and louder!!!

"Graaaaaah!"

Suzaku's mind was falling apart. He grabbed the item closest to his hands, which was the Zero mask, and threw it at the wall. The mask broke into hundreds of little pieces.

Suzaku began calming down. He took deep breaths and relaxed himself. He looked at the broken pieces of the mask.

_That woman is going to make me have a psychological breakdown someday._

Suzaku sat down at his desk. He stared up at the ceiling.

_You are right. I probably __**was**__ contradicting myself. But it doesn't mean I'm going to listen to you._

Suzaku opened up a cabinet drawer. Inside was a spare Zero mask. He took it out and put it on.

_My life has been composed of countless contradictions. One more contradiction isn't going to kill me._

-IV-

C.C. has been struggling for nearly an hour. Two hundred years ago, she put a psychological lock on this particular telepathic link, so neither she nor the person on the other line could communicate with each other. C.C. found that attempting to break the lock down would be a daunting task. However, after an hour of mental stress, which induced several nosebleeds, she was able to break down the lock.

C.C. took a very deep breath. She then lay back down on the bed and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she found herself in a completely white space. There was absolutely nothing anywhere. Literally, 'nothing' was spread out everywhere. C.C. floated around the space, but she could not find who she was looking for.

"I know you're in here. Show yourself!"

"Oh, my. If it isn't C.C."

C.C. looked around. She heard his voice, but she could not see him.

"Where are you?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm just like you right now. I'm floating naked in a white space full of nothing. I can hear you, but I can't see you."

C.C. stopped moving. She scowled.

"Heavens, C.C., how long has it been? Two hundred years?"

"I'm not here for idle chit chat. I want to know what you are planning!"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"I saw the Thought Elevator on Kaminejima Island! It's creating a doorway to the Dimension! Are you planning to come back to this world?"

The voice laughed. It continued laughing, infuriating C.C.

"Answer me, damn it!"

"Oh, it doesn't feel right telling you this through mere telepathy. I want to tell you in person."

"We can't exactly meet in person, can we?" C.C. replied.

"Exactly. That's why you'll just have to wait until I come there to you." The voice laughed once more, and the link was cut off once again. C.C. was alone again.

"We're not finished yet!"

Unfortunately, the other person _did_ believe they were finished. The white void suddenly turned black, and C.C. began falling down. This signaled that the other person put the psychological lock on the link once again. As C.C. was falling down, she closed her eyes, and then opened them again. She was back in the real world, lying down on her bed.

C.C. sat back up. She was very worried.

"Not good. Not good at all."

-V-

Malthus sat down at a bench in the park. He looked up at the sky, and nodded.

"It's time. With my free will... I can change the world."

**(RE R)**

_Malthus has a flashback._

_"Back to where it all began..."_

_The Sub Stage, The Sub Chapter, Chapter 0.0215: __**Code Malthus**_

**(RE R)**

**-...Oh...my...god. I haven't updated in nearly a month. Geez, I hate myself for being so damn lazy. I am very, very, VERY sorry about this extremely late update. Since it's summer, and I've got new video games, I've been getting very lazy at updating. Here is my theory on my late updating: back when I was still in school, my updates were very frequent. I think this is because I can't do very much fun activities on school days, so writing fanfics filled the void of boredom. Now that it's summer, my video games and other activities have been overshadowing my fanfics. However, I am almost certain that when I go back to school, updates will be a lot quicker!**

**Sorry if this chapter kind of drolled on and on and on...There were mostly conversations, not nearly enough action. Not my best work. However, my following chapters will get a lot better, with more upcoming twists! I can't wait to see Suzaku's Lancelot Magnus in action!**

**You probably noticed the odd preview I put at the end of this chapter. The next chapter is a flashback chapter, in Malthus's POV. You've probably noticed Malthus implying that he and the other three aren't human. The next chapter will explain their origins, and will also take a look into the R Universe's headquarters. With that done, thank you for reading, and please wait patiently for the next chapter!-**


	11. Sub Chapter: Code Malthus

Sub-Chapter 0.0215: Code Malthus

Malthus sighed. He boredly looked around the classroom. There was a storm of classmate conversations, all blabbing on-and-on about dumb things. Things like, _"Oh, look how cute Robby looks today!", "Janis looks smokin' in that schoolgirl uniform!", _or _"Do any of you guys think Ms. Courtese is hot? Cuz I do!"_

Malthus groaned. He wasn't really friends with any of these people. The only one he could really connect with was Castor, and he still wasn't in class yet.

Malthus looked over at his supposed comrades. Leonid and Malthus were playing their fifth game of chess in a row. Vivian was multi-tasking. She was reading a textbook as well as writing notes at the same time.

_Boy, she's really good at keeping up her human facade._

Malthus leaned back in his chair. He looked up at the ceiling and pondered about the old days.

_To say the truth...not much has really changed over all of these years. From being raised in those headquarters, to being spies...What a life, huh? I can remember...back to where it all began...well, actually many years after it all began..._

**---**

_Year: 2018_

"We are Japan! And we are united! From this day forth, this very room shall be the first province of the United States of Japan!"

There was Zero, in all of his demon king glory, broadcasting live. He's somehow returned after so long, reappearing right before Britannia was about to execute the captured members of the Black Knights. He saved them, and now the Black Knights are wild again.

"Lelouch vi Britannia is a naive and stupid little brat. Who would state a room to be a country? Pathetic."

I looked over at the girl standing to the left of me. Once again, Vivian was being bitchy and annoying. But, I would never say that to her. If I ever did, she'd kill me in a heartbeat.

"It's probably part of his plan. You know, he wants to destroy Britannia and all that shit."

I looked at the guy standing to the right of me. He was definitely Leonid, always the thinker and a frequent user of curse words.

"Zero, or Lelouch, clearly wants to state Japan's independence."

I looked at the guy to the right of Leonid. Marsellus...also the thinker.

"Hmph. He's still naive. He _is_ a teenager after all," Vivian said.

"He may be a teenager, but his conscious and mind is far above that of a regular adult male."

I looked over at master De Odin. He was standing by the large television screen.

"I'm tired of doing nothing but minor misdemeanor attacks and mere mischief. I want to do some real damage, not this kiddie stuff!" Vivian snarled.

"Do not step out of line, Vivian! Do you think _I_ am any happier with this waiting than you are? The superior has ordered this, and if you do not like it, you can just get on out of the RU and into a world where everyone will reject you!"

Vivian silenced. Despite still being angry, she held her tongue. I tried my best not to look at her, or else she'd give me her death stare. And we all know how uncomfortable _that_ is...

"Plus, your powers are still not up to speed. Until they have reached max, like mine, you cannot perform any major missions yet. The four of you are too important. For now, you will stick to Complication Training."

De Odin turned off the television screen, and went to the front of the small, empty room. He opened a door, and went through it. The four of us followed him.

-I-

All five of us were now in a large, empty auditorium-like area. At the end of the room was a small control room. De Odin walked over to it and went inside. Afterwards, the four of us went to the very center of the area. We faced away from each other, and each of us faced a wall.

"It is time for Complication Training to begin!"

_Wait, hold on, hold the train! You're probably wondering what is up with this Complication Training. What is so "complicated" about it? I bet you're also wondering why we, the great R Universe, are not doing much other than minor misdemeanors. Well, looks like I'll have to start with the beginning._

_Ever wonder what was so special about Vivian, Marsellus, Leonid, and I? Well, the answer is simple. __**We're not humans.**__ You could take a look at us, and think we are perfectly normal human beings. Unfortunately, that is not the case. We are supernatural beings with human bodies, and we are known as... __**Geass Complications.**_

_What are Geass Complications? Complications are souls influenced by geass that dwell in C's World's opposite, R's Dimension. Normally, Complications have no bodies of their own. They also don't normally have free will, and usually follow their leader's orders without question. We, however, are special._

_I don't know very much about the superior's origins. I don't even know his real name! So, I'll just stick with what I do know. Shortly after the superior was banished to R's Dimension, he grew interested in the Geass Complications, and sought to create Complications that could masquerade as humans. He went through many trials and many errors. He found that although Complications would be capable of possessing human bodies, they would retain their lack of emotion, as well as lack of free will. Then, thirty years ago, he found his answer._

_Through experimenting with human bodies, as well as the human thought and memory, he was able to create four Geass Complications with natural bodies. These Complications could grow just like regular humans, albeit with strange powers. Those four Geass Complications were, you guessed it, the four of us. The only problem with us was that our physical (not mental) development was considerably slowed down. So, despite the four of us being about thirty years old, we have the appearance of an eighteen year old teenager. Other than that, we had the other human aspects. We had the ability to develop, learn, and most importantly, have free will._

_In order for us to truly learn to be humans, we were raised as humans since "birth". De Odin, formerly being a teacher from Ukraine, taught us the way teachers teach their students.. He taught us the usual stuff, like history, math, science, and all the other subjects. Even with this, the superior put severe emphasis on military actions and fighting. Other than the school stuff, we were pretty much taught to be self-disciplined, just like Spartan boys from Ancient Greece (even though one of us is a girl)._

_Now, about us not doing much in the world of terrorism...even I don't know why. First of all, let me explain a little more of the RU. Although we have yet to make a name for ourselves, the RU is composed of many people from lands conquered by Britannia. Some of these people are also from the EU. These humans despise all Britannians, Japanese, and some other groups of people. They wish to, basically, rule the world. They have sworn their allegiance to master De Odin as well as the superior, as long as the master and superior bring them their hearts' desires. The RU has been active for about three years, starting off small and slowly growing larger. Through all this time, the humans have managed to remain tolerant of the superior's lack of orders. The superior constantly talks about how we are not to do anything major until the date is close to January 5th, 2021. So...there you go. Now that my explanation is finished, how about we take a look at the Complication Training?_

-II-

"Begin!"

An alarm started sounding in the large auditorium room. Suddenly, Knightmare Frame-like machines (without pilots) dropped down from the ceiling. I counted perhaps fifteen of them. They all pointed their machine guns at the four of us. We all assumed the battle stance. It was time to begin!

"Split up!"

We did as Vivian said, and split up from each other. The Knightmares began aiming their machine guns and cannons at us. Four Knightmares started chasing after Vivian. With great agility and speed, she was able to dodge every single bullet and cannon shot at her. But then, the Knightmares managed to corner her. However, she did not appear to be afraid. Instead, as the Knightmares aimed at her, she started laughing.

"Oh, you really think you can defeat me?"

Vivian flipped her hair, and touched her right eye. Then...a **green** geass sigil appeared in her right eye.

"Re-Composition!"

The Knightmares began aiming at her. However, she was able to dodge them, but not by running or jumping. She turned into...gold. Her entire body was now entirely golden. The Knightmare's attacks simply ricocheted off of her, leaving her without a single scratch. She turned back into her normal physical form.

"Re-Composition!"

Vivian's body changed form once again. This time, she turned into stainless steel. With amazing agility, despite having a steel body, she jumped high into the air. She was now above one of the Knightmares. She lunged down at it, her fist ready to strike it. With a single punch-dive, she managed to completely cut the Knightmare in half, destroying it. She turned to the other three and sneered.

"It's your turn!"

She rushed to another Knightmare. It tried to shoot her again, but they continued to deflect off of her steel body. With amazing ease, she was able to **pick up** the Knightmare, and lift it into the air. She looked at another Knightmare. She grinned, and threw the one she was holding at it. Upon collision, the two Knightmares exploded.

Vivian turned to the last Knightmare opposing her, She rushed towards it.

"Re-Composition!"

This time, Vivian's body turned into hard rock. As the Knightmare shot at her, she jumped and dodged the attacks. In a matter of seconds, she arrived right in front of the Knightmare.

"Die, machine!"

Vivian unleashed a barrage of rocky punches and kicks. She severely damaged the Knightmare's outside armor. With one last kick, the Knightmare flew across the room and hit the wall. Like the others, it exploded.

Vivian chuckled and went back into her normal form. She looked at Marsellus, Leonid and I and waited for us to finish off our own Knightmares.

-

As I watched four Knightmares chase Vivian, I turned and also saw four Knightmares chasing Leonid. Leonid looked back at the Knightmares and smiled. He truly believed he could destroy them without breaking a sweat. Leonid touched his right eye. A green geass sigil lit up in it. He was about to activate his R's Dimension geass.

"Hyperspeed!"

With amazing speed, even faster than Vivian, Leonid quickly circled around and around the four Knightmares. They were apparently getting "confused", not sure where to aim.

"How about eating this!?!"

Leonid hopped up inbetween two of the Knightmares. One of them saw him, and immediately opened fire. Just when the bullet were about to hit him, he dashed down. The bullets instead hit the Knightmare behind Leonid, thoroughly destroying it.

Leonid laughed at the Knightmare. He then jumped up on the Knightmare's head. The other two saw him, and aimed at him. He jumped off the Knightmare, and the machines destroyed it. He jumped onto the other Knightmare, once again causing the machines to play a game of "friendly fire". Leonid stared at the final Knightmare going after him.

"How about a more strategic way of ending this?"

Using his incredible speed, Leonid attempted to defeat the Knightmare not by destroying it, but by dismantling it. Before the machine could see what he was doing, Leonid had already taken some of its bullets, and exposed its Core Luminous. Leonid took aim at the exposed core.

"Say goodbye!"

Leonid tossed his acquired bullets into the Knightmare's core. The Core started to react, and Leonid responded by knocking the Knightmare to the ground. The Core then exploded, causing the Knightmare to explode as well.

Leonid looked at what happened. He shrugged. "Eh. It's more fun destroying them anyway."

-

Vivian appeared to be doing well. So was Leonid. I turned to look at my last comrade, Marsellus. Unlike Vivian and Leonid, instead of running away from the Knightmares, he stayed perfectly still. Four Knightmares took aim at him. One of them shot a large missile at him. Despite this, he stood perfectly still. He then touched his right eye. A green geass sigil appeared in it.

"Auto-Grav."

The missile continued and got closer and closer to Marsellus. However, as it got closer, its speed greatly reduced. Eventually, it stopped moving completely and fell to Marsellus's feet. Marsellus took hold of the missile. By using Auto-Grav, he manipulated gravity, allowing him to lift up the missile with ease. He took aim at a Knightmare, and another Knightmare standing behind the first one. With Auto-Grav, he hurled the missile at them. The missile's speed greatly increased, and the increased speed caused the missile to go through the first Knightmare and into the second one. Both exploded shortly after.

Marsellus rubbed his hands and looked at the two remaining Knightmares. He pointed his hands at them, and his geass sigil glowed brightly. Suddenly, the Knightmares began falling _up._ As they hit the wall, they received noticeable damage. Marsellus stopped Auto-Grav, and the Knightmares fell to the ground, receiving more damage. He turned on Auto-Grav again, and repeated the process two or three more times. Eventually, after the Knightmares received enough damage, they fell to the ground. Neither of them were able to move anymore.

Marsellus sighed and pushed his glasses up. "Too easy."

-

After taking quick glances at Vivian, Leonid, and Marsellus fighting their Knightmares, I brought my attention back to myself. I looked at the three Knightmares chasing after me, and began running away from them. These Knightmares not only used machine guns and cannons, they also shot Slash Harkens at me. Those annoying anchors really get on my nerve. I quickly dodged several bullets and cannon attacks, but then the Knightmares unleashed their Slash Harkens unto me. I saw no possible way to dodge them normally, so I resorted to my powers. I touched my right eye, causing a green geass sigil to appear. Just when the Harkens were about to hit me...I disappeared. Actually, in truth, I _teleported_. I appeared behind the three Knightmares.

Another of the Knightmares shot another Slash Harken at me. It almost hit me, but I teleported away just in time. The problem with my teleportation is that I have a 2.83 second recovery time. This is my main problem. I looked at the machines, and tried to think of a way to destroy them. I then looked over at Leonid. His method of destruction was trying to get the machines to attack one another. I decided that that would be a good strategy for me.

I continued teleporting until the we were in the perfect formation: in a line, from left to right- Knightmare Frame 1, me, Knightmare Frame 2, Knightmare Frame 3

I made sure Knightmare Frame 1 was looking at me. When it saw me, it fired off (once again) a Slash Harken. Right in the nick of time, i teleported away. The Slash Harken destroyed both Knightmare Frame 2 and Knightmare Frame 3.

I was happy that the two had been beaten. However, I forgot to take into account one thing: Knightmare Frame 1 was still alive.

I groaned as the machine looked at me again. How am I supposed to defeat it now with only teleportation?

"You really are hopeless, Malthus."

Suddenly, the machine exploded. As its parts fell to the ground, I saw Vivian behind it. She was in her Gold Composition form. She turned back into her normal physical form.

"You have only managed to defeat two, while the other three of us have managed to destroy at least four. You're a failure as a Geass Complication. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were just another lowly human."

"Plus," Leonid intervened, "you can't even think of your own battle strategies! You had to copy mine! Pathetic!"

I said nothing. I looked over at Marsellus. He also said nothing, but he was shaking his head.

"Complication Training is complete," De Odin said as he walked out of the control room. "Now come along with me. The superior wishes to speak with us."

As Vivian, Marsellus, and Leonid followed De Odin, I looked at the gloomy walls of the training room. I'm trapped in these headquarters, and even if I go outside, my heart will still be trapped. I really am a failure. Sometimes, I even find myself yearning to be a human...

**---**

Malthus deeply sighed. Even to this day, nothing has changed about him. He still believes that he is a weakling and a failure.

_If I could, I'd probably commit suicide._

"Hey, Malthus! Good to see you!"

That all-too-familiar face came into the classroom. Malthus turned and smiled.

_Then again, I might not._

**-...Wow. It's been even longer since the last time I've updated, huh? Anyway, I have a legitimate reason for not updating. A few weeks back, I went to LA, where I wasn't even close to computer! Plus, I've recently begun high school, so I've had loads of homework. From now on, I'll try to update at least every two weeks, but I can't guarantee it.**

**To readers of ****Pokemon Battle Region**** and ****Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Alternate Truth****, I'm afraid I'll be putting those on a long time hiatus. For now, I want to focus on this story, plus some new Kingdom Hearts story ideas. Those new stories won't be coming out until after this story is finished. Anyway, thanks for reading and being so patient!-**


	12. Doomsday Phenomena

Chapter 11: Doomsday Phenomena

_**Date: September 23, 2020 a.t.b.**_

-I-

_"Ugh!"_

_I opened my eyes. I looked around me. I was sitting in a throne-like seat on a moving platform. I felt the air flowing through my air, so I guess that meant I was outside. I looked at my attire. ...Why am I wearing the clothing of royalty? My clothing had many designs to it, as well as some encrusted jewels. I looked down. I saw some people on a smaller moving platform below me. One was... Schneizel? What's going on? I looked at another person. She was a little girl who was covered in rags. No, it can't be...Nunnally!?!_

_I frantically looked at my surroundings once again. There were countless people crowded around the street where the platform was moving along. All were looking at me with scorn. I looked at the sides of the street. There were many people chained to black structures, and wearing whitish prison uniforms. I immediately recognized one of them...Kallen? This couldn't be... the execution of the Black Knights?_

_"Hey, look over there!" One of the spectators called out._

_I looked ahead of me. Up in front of the guarding Knightmares, the silhouette of a figure appeared. As the sun shone on him, it revealed him to be...Zero!_

_A great excitement of sorts stirred among the crowd. Many others, including Jeremiah and Kallen, were incredibly shocked._

_"That's him?!? But Lelouch is over there!" Kallen exclaimed as she looked over at me._

_This can't be! Am I living the Requiem all over again!?!_

_Suddenly, Zero, who I know as Suzaku, began sprinting towards me. The Knightmares immediately began shooting at him, but he easily dodged every single shot. Jeremiah prepared to do combat with him, but Suzaku simply jumped right over Jeremiah. He hopped over to the platform, and appeared right before me._

_It suddenly seemed like I was no longer in control of my actions. I grabbed a gun that I put on my person._

_"Impudent fool!" I pointed at Suzaku, but he took out a rapier-like weapon, and knocked it out of my hand._

_I gasped, and Suzaku aimed his sword at my weak point: my heart. With all his might, he thrust towards me._

_I made no sound other than a light gasp. The moment that sword went through my heart, I felt my body just stop. My brain slowly began powering down. Almost subconsciously, I said a few words to Suzaku. He then released his sword from me, and let me fall down a ramp. I landed next to dear sister, and the clouds darkened my mnd. I slwly began loozing my thoughts...prosesses...grammar contrl...and I slwly driffted away..._

_-_

"Gah!"

Lelouch woke up with a gasp. He was sweating profusely, and had a throbbing headache. He struggled and looked at the clock.

**1:29 AM**

Lelouch groaned. "These dreams...nightmares...what do they mean?"

Lelouch slowly took off his shirt, and threw it to the floor. He glanced outside for a moment, where he saw C.C. outside and staring off into the sky. After struggling for several minutes to ignore the pain of his headache, he painfully fell asleep again.

-

_I groaned. As I slowly opened my eyes, I felt a sharp pain. As I drifted back into reality, I saw that I was sitting down in a wooden chair. I was also chained full-body to the chair. I tried getting out of the chains, but the tightness of the chains grew tighter, and discouraged me from continuing. I looked around. I was in a tiny room with gray walls, a door, and a single lightbulb above me._

_What's going on? I don't remember this ever happening to me._

_Then, the door began to open. I waited anxiously for whoever was about to enter the room. Then, a teenage boy stepped in. He was wearing an Ashford Academy uniform, had blue eyes, and blonde hair. He looked strikingly familiar..._

_"Hello, Lulu. Remember me?"_

_I studied his face. He was grinning evilly, as if he had just triumphed over me in a life-threatening game. Then, in a few moments, I knew who he was. I just couldn't believe it..._

_"...You can't be...Castor?"_

_Castor laughed and laughed. I just couldn't believe it. This can't be for real! Castor is me! I am Castor! We are one and the same person!_

_"Oh, Lelouch. Are you surprised to see me?"_

_"You can't be for real. You and I are one! This must be some hallucination, or a dream of sorts!"_

_"If this was a dream, could you feel this?"_

_Castor stood right in front of me. He lifted his fist, and punched me square in the face! The pain was staggering, and blood quickly flowed out of my nose._

_"Gu-Guh! Wha-what the hell is going on? Why am I here? Why are you a separate entity?"_

_Castor laughed once again. He then grabbed my chin and brought his face to mine._

_"I'll admit, I guess I owe you one for creating me in the first place. However, I'm not really the person who pays all of his debts."_

_He let my chin go, and slapped me in the face. I could still feel my cheek throbbing moments after he slapped me._

_"You just think you're so smart, don't you Lelouch? Think you'll figure out everything, find who resurrected you, and save the world once again?"_

_Castor grabbed my hair, and held my head back. He then took out a very sharp knife, and held it to my neck. I winced as he pressed the knife against my skin._

_"You won't do it. It won't work. You're too naive."_

_In anger, I brought my head back up again, ignoring the small slashes the knife made on my neck. "I'm not naive! You know who I am! I created the Black Knights! Dominated Britannia! Created a period of 'Pax Britannia'!"_

_Castor jammed his two fists into my face. More blood sprayed out of my nose. I immediately knew I was face-to-face with a dangerous, psychopathic madman. And to make matters worse, he rubbed his hands all over my face and neck. He spread the blood all over my skin, making me appear dark red. _

_If anyone is still not convinced that he's crazy, the next thing he will do is sure to convince anyone._

_Castor punched me once again in the face, so that even more blood spurted out. He then proceeded to collect the blood. He cupped it in his hands...and drank it. I looked in absolute horror at the cannibalistic human being drinking my blood. I froze in complete fear. My neck hair rose up, my eyes grew incredibly wide, and I felt myself shrink. After drinking the blood, he scooped up more of my blood. This time, instead of drinking it, he proceeded to rub it all over his face. All the while, he laughed maniacally and sang to himself._

_"Look at all the pretty red, look at all the pretty red!"_

_Then, Castor stopped singing, and looked at me again. I no longer saw a human being. I saw a monster._

_"And what about Malthus? He's going to find out eventually," Castor said, acting as if the blood drinking never happened._

_I tried to answer, but couldn't. After seeing that horrific event, I became mute._

_"Not answering? Then I'll just go on. Malthus will eventually find out. And we both know how fragile he is right now. If he found out his only friend was really his true enemy, he'll break! You're done for Lelouch! You're completely done for!"_

_Castor laughed a demonic laugh. He did not sound like anything from this earth. Then, the door opened, and another figure came in. This figure was wearing the Zero suit._

_Castor continued to laugh and pointed at the person in the Zero suit. "And she'll be the death of you!"_

_The person took off the Zero mask. Under the mask...was the face of...Nunnally!_

-II-

"No!"

Lelouch jumped up from his bed. He startled C.C., as she also woke up. Lelouch turned to the clock.

**3:00 AM**

"Lelouch, what's going on?"

Lelouch did not answer, and got off the bed. He went over to the mirror. He examined his skin. He did not see a single slash mark, nor any damage to his nose. He also did not see a single patch of red on his skin.

"Jesus Christ..."

"What the hell is the matter with you?!?"

Lelouch turned around to C.C., but as he was about to explain, he saw her fluffing her Cheese-kun doll.

"You almost killed him! Look, his stuffing is all uneven!" C.C. complained as she tried evening out Cheese-kun's stuffing.

"Would you forget about the stupid doll!?!" Lelouch said, exasperated.

C.C. held Cheese-kun close to her. "Fine. Now what's the matter?"

Lelouch sighed. He saw down on the bed. "I just had a nightmare."

"Aww. Does the baby need his hand held?"

Lelouch ignored the insulting comment. "I actually had two dreams. In the first one, I relived my death at Suzaku's hands. The second..."

C.C. scooted closer to Lelouch. "What?"

"...I was chained to a chair. And...my Castor personality came to life and began torturing me."

C.C. lifted an eyebrow. "That's quite interesting."

"What does this mean, C.C.? What are with these dreams?"

"You're obviously being affected by the Doomsday Phenomena."

Lelouch scrunched his eyebrows. "The Doomsday Phenomena? What's that?"

C.C. turned on the television. "I recorded the news yesterday. It talked all about the Phenomena."

C.C. scrolled through her recorded shows, and stopped at the recording 'September 23, 2020 8:32PM'.

-

Milly Ashford appeared on the television screen. She looked worried.

"And with sports done, we now come to a new event occuring all over the world. Very odd and strange phenomenons have been occuring everywhere, from the United States, to Africa, to Australia, to Japan! Here are only a few of the mysterious occurings:

Yesterday, a shocking _thirty_ virgin births occured across the entire North American continent! Scientists and doctors alike are baffled. Next, somehow, the Red Sea has risen and parted, not unlike the biblical account. However, unlike it, the Red Sea is still parted, and does not appear to be showing any signs of going back to normal. Also, Anegada Island of the Virgin Islands appears to have mysteriously vanished! Not a single trace of it has been found yet! And perhaps the most common occurence are recurring nightmares among people scattered across the Earth. These nightmares seem to be the very opposite of the drug Refrain's effect. These nightmares are causing people to relive their toughest memories, most painful memories, and most violent memories.

These frightening and mysterious occurences are causing the world to go into worldwide panic. People are speaking that-"

One of the studio workers suddenly appeared in front of the camera. He looked frantic and crazy.

"It's the Mayans! Their prophecy is coming true!"

One of the other studio workers said something to him. "Their prophecy was that the world would end in 2012, you idiot!"

"That's only 8 years! What difference does it make?!?"

Several more workers came over to the crazy man and dragged him away from the camera. Milly readied herself again.

"Um, moving along. People believe that these occurences are signs of the apocalypse, or doomsday. Due to this, many are calling it 'The Doomsday Phenomena'. It seems like the period of 'Pax Britannia', or perhaps 'Pax Terra', is coming to an end."

-

C.C. turned off the television. Lelouch shook his head.

"The Requiem wasn't a painful memory. I willingly went along with it. And the torture dream... I'm absolutely sure that never happened with me."

"Maybe it's something else then. So... are you going to go back to sleep?"

"No. I think I need some fresh air."

Lelouch got up from the bed, and walked outside. As he got outside, he lay down on the grass. He looked up at the stars. He felt much more peaceful. The quiet and silence, the cool air... it was hard to believe some 'Doomsday Phenomena' was going on right now.

Suddenly, Lelouch heard a rush of air behind him. He turned around, and saw a woman there. She had a blue suit and blonde hair... she was the same woman from before!

"You again!" Lelouch jumped up.

The woman chuckled. "Hello, demon prince."

Lelouch then grew very calm. He re-composed himself, looked at the woman and grinned. "It's nice to formally meet you, Nemo."

Nemo was slightly startled that Lelouch knew who she was. "How?"

"I hear C.C. talking to you on her cell phone. Also, she's already told me a lot about you."

Nemo chuckled and ran her hand through her hair. "Oh? Like what?"

Lelouch did not answer. Instead, he asked her a question. "Did you tell my sister?"

"You betcha."

Lelouch snarled and curled his hands into fists. "And Suzaku?"

"Nope."

Lelouch relaxed. "What does Nunnally think of it?"

"She won't tell me how she feels. Actually, she's been trying to avoid talking about you, even when conversing with me. I don't know her plans, but I wouldn't go near her right now if I were you."

"Hmph." Lelouch turned around so his back was facing Nemo. "And what do you want? Why did you come here?"

Nemo grabbed Lelouch's arm. "I'm gonna show you."

Before Lelouch could say anything, both of them vanished without a trace.

-III-

Lelouch and Nemo reappeared on a cliff-like area. Lelouch looked at his surroundings. It was quite dry.

"Where are we, Nemo?"

"On the coast of Egypt."

"Why?"

"Look over there."

Lelouch looked where Nemo was pointing. He almost lost his breath from the sight. Just close by, he saw a parted sea. The two sides rose up high above the sea's bottom. The waves roared, but showed no sign of going back down. Lelouch could not believe it.

"This is... the Red Sea's second parting?"

"You got it. Truely a magnificent sight, isn't it?"

Lelouch looked at the sea for a few more moments. He then turned to Nemo.

"Is this all you wanted me to see?"

"Just one more thing." Nemo grabbed Lelouch's arm, and once again, they vanished.

-

They appeared again in a new terrain. This time, they appeared in a park-like area.

"Where are we now?"

"In a park in California."

They looked into the distance. Out in a field, the two saw small animal-like figures. They walked closer to them, and got a better view of the area. Lelouch was shocked at what he saw. He saw perhaps hundreds, maybe a thousand cats! All of them were mewing a song. For some reason, Lelouch believed it sounded slightly demonic.

"Tell me now, Nemo. What is the point of this?"

"The Doomsday Phenomena is occuring, Nemo said plainly.

"I already know that."

"But you don't know _why_ it's happening."

Lelouch grew quiet. He waited for Nemo to continue.

"As time is passing by, energy from R's Dimension is slowly seeping into the natural world. This is what is causing all of these weird events."

Lelouch frowned. "R's Dimension? Does that mean... it's going to open?"

"Well, that depends. The Doomsday Phenomena is set to end on January 5th, 2021, as long as nothing particularly bad happens involving you."

"Why me?"

"I'm not sure, but I think that somehow, _you_ will be the one to open the entrance to R's Dimension."

"And what if I choose not to open it?"

"Then the world will go back to normal."

Lelouch crossed his arms. "I don't think it's that simple."

Nemo shrugged. "Hey, there's only so much knowledge I know. I may be smarter and have more power than C.C., but I don't know everything. Hey, speaking of C.C..."

Nemo grabbed Lelouch again, and once again, they vanished.

-

This time, the two landed in a mysterious area. Lelouch looked around him. There were paintings flying all around the air.

"_Now_ where are we?"

"We're in C.C.'s mind."

Before Lelouch could ask her to elaborate, Nemo began walking forward. Groaning, Lelouch followed. Eventually, they came upon a woman standing in front of a painting. It appeared to be C.C.

"Hello there, C.C.," Nemo greeted.

C.C. said nothing. Instead, she touched the painting. It appeared to be a painting of one of C.C.'s memories. It showed Lelouch in his royal attire sitting on a throne, with Suzaku the Knight of Zero and C.C. at his side.

"This is one of my most memorable memories." C.C. looked over at Lelouch. "Who's your friend, Nemo?"

Lelouch stiffened. He was confused. However, Nemo was completely unphased. "Don't you know him? He's one of your male friends."

"The male friend that I am the closest to is Lelouch," C.C. said as she touched the painting again.

Lelouch began to say something, but Nemo interrupted. "Take a look at this man next to me. What do you see?"

C.C. looked at Lelouch. She studied him for a few seconds. "I see... knowledge... truth... pain."

"_His_ knowledge, truth, and pain... or _yours?_" Nemo questioned.

C.C. tilted her head. She thought for a moment. She straightened her head back up. "_Mine_."

Nemo turned to Lelouch. "You may think you can completely trust C.C., but you can't. She knows more than she's leading you to think."

"What kinds of things does she know?"

"All the things you want to know. About the rebels... and perhaps even the reason you were brought back."

Lelouch grew angry. "Why would she hide that from me?!?"

"It pains her. It's _because_ she knows that she is in pain. You'll never get the information you want all by yourself. You need to get inside her head, deeper than the area we're in right now."

Lelouch took another look at the C.C. She was sitting down, staring at the painting, humming to herself. If what Nemo said was true... then he might not be able to trust C.C. ever again.

**(RE R)**

_Lelouch angrily confronts C.C._

_"What do you know?"_

_Suzaku talks to the Zero mask._

_"We're running out of time."_

_Castor appears in front of Lelouch._

_"This is no longer a dream, Lulu."_

_The Next Stage, The Next Chapter: __**Rui Britannia**_

**(RE R)**

**-Thanks to everyone for waiting so patiently for this next chapter. Believe me, this wait was no picnic for me either. Anyway, I want everyone to know that the story if far from being finished. Also, Nemo will begin having more and more importance in the following chapters. So be ready for that!**

**One more thing. I noticed many people adding my story to Story Alert or Favorites, but not reviewing. If you do so, I would like to ask you to review as well! I always, and I mean always, value the opinions of my readers. Tell me what you like! Tell me what you don't like! Tell me any new ideas you have for the story (except for the ending, which I have already thought of)! Anyway, with that said, thank you for reading and review, review, REVIEW!-**


	13. Rui Britannia

Chapter 12: Rui Britannia

_Date: September 23, 2020 a.t.b._

_Yawn!_

C.C. woke up. Feeling rejuvenated, she stretched her arms out and yawned. She felt like a new woman, despite having lived for hundreds of years. She scratched her rear, and looked at the table next to her bed. On top of it was a pizza box with three slices of leftover pizza. She licked her lips and reached for the delicious foodstuff.

Suddenly, a figure next to the table grabbed the pizza box out of C.C.'s reach. C.C. gasped and turned to the figure who snatched away her beloved food. She frowned and growled.

"Lelouch, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Lelouch stood above C.C. He was wearing a white tank top and blue house shorts, as the previous days have been quite warm. He did not seem to be in the mood for playful banter. He had a menacing look on his eyes, far more menacing than what C.C. was used to. C.C. almost flinched upon seeing his expression. It appeared that if Lelouch's geass had the ability to affect C.C., and make her kill herself, he would have done it.

C.C. looked up at him. Although surprised at Lelouch's extreme seriousness, she stayed her ground and did not falter before him. "What's wrong with you?"

Lelouch did not answer. Instead, he took the three slices of pizza out of the box. He then dropped them onto the ground, prompting a yelp from C.C. Afterwards, he glared at the pizza and dug his heel into all three slices. He viciously tore the food apart. After a few moments, the pizza was completely destroyed, and bits of bread, cheese, and sauce were scattered around Lelouch's feet. C.C. growled again and got up from the bed.

"What the hell, Lelouch?!? I was going to eat that!"

Then, in what appeared to be a nanosecond, Lelouch's fist slammed into the side of C.C.'s face. She fell back down onto her bed. The left side of her face was bruised and purple. C.C. groaned and covered her cheek with her hand. Lelouch still had a menacing look on his face.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

With a great thrust, Lelouch brought his knee up and made contact with C.C.'s stomach. She fell to the ground onto her knees, and clutched her stomach. She was gasping with pain.

C.C. stared up at Lelouch, who was looming above her. There was no fear on her face. She breathed heavily, but she did not show a fear of Lelouch's sudden viciousness.

"If you're trying to kill me, it's not going to work. You know that."

Again, Lelouch didn't answer. With his left hand, he roughly grabbed C.C.'s chin and held her head up. Then, with all his might, he delivered an anger-driven uppercut to the bottom of her head. C.C. lay sprawled on the ground. She was coughing, and some blood dripped from her mouth. Lelouch stepped over and hovered above her.

Breathing heavily for breath, C.C. stared into Lelouch's eyes. She gave him a defiant look.

"Enough with this foolishness. Tell me now why you're doing this."

Lelouch snarled, but he did not hit C.C. She got up and sat down on the bed. Lelouch stayed standing, looking angrily at C.C.

"What? Tired of pizza everyday? Bad nightmare? Want your mommy?"

Lelouch clenched one of his fists. He then pointed at C.C.'s face with a wavering finger.

"What do you know? Tell me what you know right now, dammit!"

"Know about what?" C.C. asked, getting annoyed by the entire situation.

"You know everything! Nemo came by last night! She took me into your mind! You know everything!" Lelouch screamed like a maniac.

A surprised look came onto C.C.'s face for a second. It then disappeared, and she stared at Lelouch with an emotionless face.

"Everything about what?"

"You know it all! The origin of the Doomsday Phenomena! The secrets of the rebels! Who resurrected me! I want answers, and I want them now!"

C.C. scowled. She and Lelouch stared at each other, each of them very angry. C.C. abruptly shook her head.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Enraged, Lelouch grabbed C.C. by the shoulders, and laid her on the bed. He hovered above her, his body over her body. Had the two not have been arguing, it would have seemed like an awkward and suggestive position. However, right now, that is not the case.

"I've put up with these games for so long. Back during the years of Zero, I've put up with you. Since I've been resurrected, I've put up with you, and respected you as well. I _had_ my utter trust in you," Lelouch explained, putting emphasis on the word 'had'. "And now, you're keeping all these secrets from me! Even I don't hide important things from you! Now give me the answers I want. _Now._"

"And if I don't? Remember, you can't exactly threaten me with anything. You can't kill me. The few people I am currently friends with are all people you yourself care about, and you won't risk holding them hostage so that you can get answers from me. So tell me. How will you make me?"

Lelouch stayed silent. C.C. stayed silent. Then, Lelouch grabbed C.C.'s forehead. Suddenly, the geass sigil on her forehead began glowing. C.C. gasped as old memories began flowing back.

-

_C.C. and a man are standing on the beach. The man appears to be taller than C.C., with blue hair that has green streaks. He is a built man, with shocking orange eyes. He looks at C.C. fondly._

_"The water is beautiful, isn't it?"_

-

_The man finishes making a handmade bracelet. It is made of shells, rare rocks, and colorful flowers. He gives it to C.C., who takes it happily and places it on her wrist._

_"I'd do anything for you, C.C."_

-

_C.C. and the man are lying down on a bed of leaves. The man cuddles C.C. in his arms. C.C., content, looks at the man with loving eyes._

_"You make me feel like a true human woman. I love you."_

-

"No! No! NO!!!"

C.C. roughly pushed Lelouch off of her. She gripped her forehead and scrunched her body together. She screamed and screamed as tears flowed out of her eyes.

"No. No. Please, no..." C.C. whispered as she cried again and again.

Lelouch chuckled and rubbed his hand. "A little gift Nemo gave me a little after we ventured into your mind. Now aside from geass, I have the power to make people remember the memories that they have attempted to shut out of their lives. My power digs deep into your mind, releasing from the core your most blocked memories. It even works on people with the Code, such as yourself."

C.C. sniffled. Lelouch began inching his hand forward, ready to make C.C. relive her worst memories again. She quickly blocked his hand and thrust her foot into Lelouch's stomach. He gasped and fell to the ground. In blind rage, C.C. slammed her fist onto the top of Lelouch's head. Although not strong enough to create a wound, it was still very painful to Lelouch. C.C. then lifted up his chin, and slapped Lelouch's face repeatedly for a minute. She let him go, and released him. He fell to the ground, groaning and moaning.

"Don't you dare do that again! DON'T YOU DARE, Lelouch! If you do that again, I will kill you, I will kill you with my bare hands. Who do you think you are to force me to remember _him? _I'm not telling you anything! Go ask Nemo, or someone else! I don't give a rat's ass!"

Without another word, C.C. ran out of the house. Lelouch struggled to get up. He peered out the window. C.C. ran away, but she stopped near a pond. She sat down, and stared at the pond. Lelouch could see that she was disturbed.

_Who is "him"? If only I was able to see the memories I forced her to relive._

"Boy, that didn't turn out so great, did it?"

Lelouch turned around. Standing behind him was none other than Nemo. She chuckled and crossed her arms.

"Why are you here again?" Lelouch asked softly as he sat down on the bed.

"I wanted to see what would happen. Wanted to see if you would use the power I gave you properly. Looks like you used it perfectly. Only it ended with C.C. threatening to kill you," Nemo said with a laugh.

"She won't tell me. I don't know anything. I want to know. I want to know so very badly." Lelouch then looked at Nemo with hopeful eyes. "Please, do you know anything? You have to know something."

Nemo shook her head. "Sorry. All I know is that C.C. has some kind of connection to whoever ordered your resurrection. Some kind of connection to some kind of 'superior', maybe."

Lelouch sighed. "That doesn't get me anywhere. Now how am I going to get the answers I need?"

Nemo thought for a moment. Then, she lifted her finger up as an idea came into her head. "I just may have an idea."

Nemo went over to Lelouch and touched his shoulder. The two of them began glowing brightly. Then, in an instant, the two disappeared again, as they had several hours ago.

-I-

Suzaku sat at his desk in his office. In front of him were two items, side by side. To the left was the Zero mask. To the right was a mirror.

Suzaku stared at the mirror. Once again, he gazed at the unmasked face. The face that was the face of Suzaku Kururugi, someone that was lost a long time ago. Suzaku thought about his own face. He noted that his own face looked exactly the same as the face of Suzaku Kururugi. They were also very similar in many ways. However, they differed in many ways as well. Suzaku, the one still alive and not lost, was known to the world as Zero. Suzaku Zero, the carbon copy of the figure that he had once despised.

Suzaku shifted his look over to the Zero mask. It appeared to stare at him. The two, the mask and the unmasked face, stared emotionless at each other. For a moment, Suzaku imagined a hole appearing on the mask over where the left eye was supposed to be. He imagined seeing a purple colored eye staring deep into his soul. He imagined the mask talking to him.

_"Suzaku! Live!"_

Suzaku winced and slowly shook his head. Once again, he was thinking about that man, the true Zero. Lelouch vi Britannia, who he was once friends with, then enemies, then allies once again. Suzaku had had enough. He believed Lelouch was dead, and a thing of the past.

Suzaku opened up the television. As usual, there were news reports coming from all around the world. News about mysterious and uncanny phenomenons occuring everywhere, news about the world going into panic. With both the Doomsday Phenomena and this new rebellion to think about...Britannia had its hands full.

Suzaku stared at the Zero mask for another moment. He looked at the clock, which read **11:28 AM**. He then laid his head on the table. He closed his eyes for a minute. Afterwards, he opened them again and looked into the Zero mask (again).

"You...we have enough problems. We're running out of time, with all these problems. Before we know it, the world will tumble into true chaos. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of everything. If it weren't for this geass command, I'd..."

"You'd what, Suzaku?"

Suzaku looked up. In front of him was a woman. She appeared to be around 16 years old. She wore a pink dress, and had long pink hair. Suzaku recognized her immediately.

"...Euphy."

"Hello, Suzaku," Euphemia greeted.

"This isn't real. I'm dreaming," Suzaku said.

_"That's correct, Suzaku. You're dreaming. That's the only way I'm talking to you right now," Euphemia replied._

_Suzaku looked around. Almost everything was gone. The monitors, the mirror, even the walls of the room. All that was left was Suzaku, Euphy, the desk, his chair, and the Zero mask._

_Suzaku sighed, and laid his arms on the table. He placed his head on one arm, and stared at Euphemia. Euphemia, his true love that Lelouch had killed._

_"Why are you appearing here? Please, just make it quick and leave. I don't want to long for you to stay, only to wake up and find myself alone," Suzaku pleaded._

_"You're different. A lot different from a few years ago. You don't seem like the Suzaku Kururugi I once knew."_

_Suzaku frowned and grabbed the Zero mask. He lightly tossed it up in the air and caught it. He tossed it in the air and caught it again. He did this continuously. Euphemia waited patiently._

_"Suzaku Kururugi. Everyone calls me that. But in reality, I'm Zero. I'm Suzaku Zero."_

_"You've changed, Suzaku, and for the worst," Euphemia sadly said._

_Suzaku eyed her. He continued frowning, and continued throwing and catching the mask._

_"You're being contradictory and hypocritical. You always think about how you despise Zero for killing me, yet you refuse to get rid of that mask. Even after my brother Schneizel was killed by the woman known as Nemo, you still continued to wear that mask. You sulk in your office all day, refusing to so much as show a single smile. You won't even let Nunnally get close to you. I don't like this, Suzaku. This bothers me so very much."_

_"I have to deal with this," Suzaku gruffly replied. "Things can never go back to the way they once were. I can't face any of my former friends. They wouldn't know what to make of me, how to deal with me. I can't revert to my friendly and pacifist persona. I have no friends, and no matter what I do and think, there's always going to be violence in the world, and it's my job to stop those causing violence, even if it means killing them. So yes, I have changed. For the worst? Yes. But that's how it has to be."_

_"Would you listen to yourself, Suzaku?!?" Euphemia screamed, sounding very exasperated. Suzaku put the mask back on the desk. "You're sounding crazy! The Suzaku I know wouldn't be like this! Kururugi, he would move on! But you...you're not just dressing up as Zero. You __**are**__ Zero, on the outside and the inside."_

_"What do you want me to do?" Suzaku said as he slammed his fist on the desk. "Don't you want me to save the world from these new threats? Isn't that what you want?"_

_Euphemia walked around the desk. She came to Suzaku's side and wheeled around his chair so that he would face her. Euphy put her hand on Suzaku's cheek. From that physical contact, Suzaku forgot about his feelings that were in turmoil. At that moment, the desk disappeared, the mask disappeared, the chair disappeared, and the Zero outfit was replaced with memorable clothing - Suzaku's pilot outfit. Other than that, all that was left was Suzaku and Euphy, who was staring lovingly into Suzaku's eyes._

_"I want Suzaku Kururugi, my knight."_

_Euphy leaned forward...and tenderly kissed Suzaku. The two hung there. There was no pain, no suffering, no contradictions. They were simply...there._

_Euphemia released her lips from Suzaku's. Suzaku looked into her eyes. He had a look that seemed as if he were pleading for her to stay with him, just let him dream forever. Euphemia smiled and mouthed 'no'. Then...Lelouch appeared behind Suzaku. Suzaku turned around, and looked at the face of his fallen friend._

_"It's time to wake up Suzaku. Remember Euphy. Remember Nunnally. Remember me."_

-

Suzaku opened his eyes. He looked around, and saw that he was back in his office. Everything was still there. The television was still there. The desk was still there. In front of Suzaku were the Zero mask and a mirror. On Suzaku, the Zero outfit was being worn.

Suzaku looked at the clock. It read **12:01 PM**.

Suzaku picked up the Zero mask. He inhaled and put it on. Once again, the unmasked face was sealed.

_Euphy, Nunnally, Lelouch...I wear this mask because of you._

-II-

In an instant, Lelouch and Nemo reappeared. Lelouch saw that the two of them were standing among the ruins of an unknown civilization. Lelouch knew where they were. He knew this place all too well.

"We're here...on Kaminejima," Lelouch monotonously said.

"Right on the money, demon prince," Nemo said mockingly.

Lelouch gave Nemo a dirty look. "Are you on my side or not?"

Nemo shrugged. "I follow my own agenda. But if you want to know, I'm on Nunnally's side."

Lelouch did not ask further, and went forward. As he walked among the pillars, he couldn't help but feel that others had been there in the past month or so that he was alive. Eventually, he came upon a memorable area: the Thought Elevator.

"I wouldn't go too close to there if I was you," Nemo stated. "When Suzaku and C.C. touched that door, some weird stuff happened."

Lelouch was surprised to hear that Suzaku and C.C. had visited the Thought Elevator, as well. "And those weird occurences are exactly why you want me to touch the door, is that not?"

Nemo giggled. "Man, you really are smart."

Lelouch went up the steps to the doorway of the Thought Elevator. However, as he got closer, he began feeling some weird energy lingering around the doorway. As if energy was seeping out.

Lelouch finally found himself right in front of the Elevator. Nemo waited at the bottom of the elevator. Lelouch began reaching his hand out to touch the door. He hesitated for a moment.

_What will happen? Will I find my answers? Or will something far more unexpected occur?_

Lelouch took a deep breath, and touched the door. The already glowing lines on the door glowed brighter. Suddenly, the door began to shake. Lelouch looked in panic.

"Nemo, what's going on!?!"

The ground began shaking as well. Nemo fell to the ground. "I, I don't know! Anything could happen right now! Another phenomenon!"

Lelouch tried to pry his hand off of the door, but it stayed on the door like glue. Then...a _geass sigil_ appeared on Lelouch's forhead. For some reason, this sigil caused Lelouch to feel pain. Lelouch screamed in the pain that the mark was causing him, desperate to pry his hand off of the door. Then...Lelouch's hand came off in an "explosion". Lelouch flew backward, the geass sigil disappearing, and was thrust onto Nemo. The ground and the doorway stopped shaking, but there was a lot of smoke coming from the doorway.

Lelouch looked at Nemo. It appeared as if she was knocked unconcious. Lelouch stood up and walked to the smoke.

"_Wow_, Lelouch. That was a real learning experience," a sarcastic voice said.

Lelouch felt his heart skip a beat. The voice...was all too familiar.

A figure came out of the smoke. He was grinning maliciously. He wore an Ashford Academy uniform, had blue eyes, and blonde hair. This time...it definitely wasn't a dream.

"No. Castor."

Castor clapped and laughed maniacally. Lelouch growled and clenched his fists.

"Castor...you're...real..."

Castor sneered. "This is no longer a dream, Lulu. I'm Castor, free of your control and free to do whatever I want!"

Castor laughed again. Then, he lunged forward and tackled Lelouch to the ground. Lelouch and Castor wrestled, and Lelouch ended up pinning Castor to the ground. Despite this, Castor continued laughing, as if he was still triumphant.

"How?!? How is this happening for real?!?"

"It was your own foolish fault for touching that door. You knew that energy from R's Dimension is seeping from that doorway! Being that close to the energy caused you to be drastically affected, and created me, this wonderful new phenomenon!"

Lelouch lifted his fist. "Well you won't be here for long. You don't deserve to be here. I'll send you to hell!"

Castor laughed crazily. "Get him!"

Suddenly, strong arms came around Lelouch's waist. These arms hurled Lelouch away from Castor. The figure dropped Lelouch to the ground, and dug his foot into Lelouch's hand. He screamed in pain.

Lelouch looked up at the second figure. He wore an Ashford Academy uniform, his hairstyle looked exactly like Lelouch's, only it was blonde with a few brown streaks. He had blue eyes.

Lelouch did not know what to make of this second person. "Wha...I never took on this persona!"

Castor laughed again, and went to stand by the second figure. "R's Dimension's sense of humor is funny. They merely take _my_ figure out of your head, create a 'brother' for me, and give us two different personalities! Oh, how delicious!"

Castor evilly grinned. He stared at Lelouch with crazy eyes, crazier than the eyes of the Castor that tortured Lelouch in his dream.

"We are no longer bound to you! We are our own men! My name is not Castor rui Pollux! My brother and I are ourselves! Together, we are Pollux rui Britannia and Castor rui Britannia!"

As Castor continued with his tirade, Pollux remained silent. He had a face devoid of emotion, and simply listened to his "brother".

"..."

Pollux removed his foor from Lelouch's hand. Lelouch brought his hand close to his body.

Castor laughed many more times, sounding crazier and crazier as time passed.

"We'll be the death of you, Lelouch! We'll be the death of you!"

With that last line said, Castor kicked Lelouch's head hard. He was knocked unconcious.

-III-

Malthus exited the buildings that were the headquarters of the R Universe. He had on his back a single pack with some supplies. As he walked away, he stopped and turned around to look at the headquarters one last time. He flipped his middle finger at the building. He then turned around and continued walking, his life with the R Universe finished.

_Lelouch...please help me...use my free will...to destroy the R Universe._

**-This chapter is finished. Thanks to all the people who waited patiently for this chapter. As some of you have noticed, I have posted up another story: a Kingdom Hearts story called "Sora 100 Percent". Some of you may have also noticed that I have updated that story quite often. Well, the reason is because I am basing that story off a manga, so it is easy for me to get ideas. For this story, it is harder to get ideas, and I often get writer's block. Sure, I make previews, but I merely use that preview as a building block for the chapter, and start the story from there. This is why I need my readers' ideas to help me continue having awesome ideas (except for ideas about the ending, I already thought that one out).**

**Lastly, I have a request. Some of the upcoming chapters will have more action and battle scenes. As some may have noticed, I am not too excellent at describing fighting scenes. I do not know many fighting techniques, and have to stick with the ones I do know. Please, I would like some ideas or tips on how to write better battle scenes. I need tips on hand-to-hand combat, as well as Knightmare combat. PLEASE give me tips! I crave opinions!-**


	14. The Lelouch Complex

Chapter 13: The Lelouch Complex

_Date: September 24, 2020 a.t.b._

Vivian gritted her teeth. She clenched her fists and growled a low, demonic-like sound. Leonid was tried his best to not stand too close to her. Marsellus did nothing.

Over the years, many events had happened that got Vivian furious. Most of these were the cause of her subordinates not following her directions. Others were mere fits of rage over her three partners. However, she had never been this angry before. Her face appeared to twist as if she was possessed. It was distorted, and one might believe that foam was coming out of her mouth. She looked like she wanted to rip the head off of the next person she saw.

The three of them were standing once again in the auditorium in front of the large screen. De Odin was standing next to the large screen. He didn't exactly appear to be angry, but he was still slightly mad. Before long, that familiar static appeared on the screen.

"We appear to be in a predicament," the superior said.

"Of course we are!" Vivian yelled in an outburst. "Malthus has defected from the RU! He probably knew who Lelouch was all this time, and never told us! God, I swear, the next time I see him, I'll crush his head together using my own two hands!"

"Please calm down, Vivian," the superior politely requested.

Vivian took a deep breath. "I apologize, my superior. I just...my emotions always get the best of me."

"Perhaps _that_ was the problem itself," De Odin interrupted. "Complications with feelings, Complications with free will...they would have likely created their own identities for themselves."

"That is enough," the superior roughly said. This oh-so-slight roughness startled all of the people in the room. The superior was almost always...no, _always_ quiet and soft spoken, even during his speeches. Perhaps De Odin's lack of support for the superior's creations angered him.

"I'm sorry, my superior," De Odin apologized, bowing to the screen.

"Think nothing of it." The superior went back to his normal soft spoken self. "Now back to the matter at hand."

"Malthus's defection will cause a serious problem for us. Malthus, Leonid, and Vivian and I all have a link, but only _he_ can detect it, due to the fact that he is the youngest of us. The minute we get close to his location, he can detect us, and teleport away from harm. If he manages to help Lelouch evade us until January 5th, our plans will be for naught," Marsellus stated.

"I don't see the big problem!" Leonid said lazily. "I can just use my hyperspeed to get him, bring him back here, and kill him!"

"It's not that simple," the superior began. "Lelouch has another ally. That woman known as Nemo. Nemo herself has the ability to sense beings from R's Dimension. The minute you get too close, she'll use her own transportation abilities to make her escape."

"If that's true...then we're boned," Leonid said with a sigh.

"Impudent fool."

The three turned to De Odin. De Odin brushed some dust off of his uniform. He then pulled a long and sharp rapier out of the scabbard on the side of his body. He pointed it at Leonid.

"You three fools fail to remember that I too am looking for Lelouch. I myself am not a being of R's Dimension. I also do not give off energy from R's Dimension, as long as I don't use my geass. If you three are useless, then _I_ will complete the job you failed miserably at doing. _I_ will find Lelouch, and drag him back here bloody, without arms, and in a sack if I have to."

"De Odin, you most certainly can help find Lelouch if you wish. But you are wrong about being alone."

De Odin looked at the screen questioningly. The superior laughed.

"We have some new allies."

Suddenly, two figures dropped from the ceiling. The four of them jumped back. The two figures were wearing Ashford Academy uniforms. One looked like a familiar classmate, while the other looked like a virtual twin of Lelouch, only with different colors.

Vivian eyed one of the figures suspiciously. "Wait, Castor?"

Castor laughed maniacally. He clapped his hands, mocking Vivian.

"Very good, Viv! Looks like you're not as dumb as I thought!"

"Excuse me?!?!?" Vivian's face burned red with anger. She charged towards Castor, ready to beat the living hell out of him. Castor did not appear scared. Rather, he was smiling a psychotic smile. Then, the other figure swiftly blocked Vivian's attack, catching her off guard. He knocked her to the ground and twisted her arm.

"Aaaaaah!" Vivian cried out in pain.

Castor cackled and patted the other figure's back. "Nice job, bro!"

"..."

Vivian growled angrily. "Just who are you?"

Castor sneered. "I'm Castor, as you already know. Bro, tell her your name?"

"...Watashi...wa...Pollux rui Britannia."

The superior lightly laughed. "Our two allies, born out of the Phenomenon, and from Lelouch's mind. It looks like we all failed to see that Castor was actually Lelouch in disguise."

"Castor...was Lelouch?" Vivian angrily punched the ground. "I should have known! I've failed...so miserably."

The superior chuckled. "These two already show great signs of success, despite being born yesterday out of a spat with Lelouch."

Vivian snapped her head up. "Wait, if you were with Lelouch yesterday, why didn't you just bring him back here? Since you obviously beat him?"

Castor appeared to pout as he crossed his arms. "Shut up."

-I-

_"Eh...ugh..."_

"Don't struggle so much, Lelouch."

Lelouch found himself lying on the bed. He looked up to see C.C., putting a bag of ice on his head. He groaned and brought his hand to his head. C.C. snapped his hand away.

"Don't. Castor kicked you so hard, that some blood came out. You also have a massive swelling on your head."

Still groaning, Lelouch mouthed 'OK', and closed his eyes. His problems were only escalating. Now that both Castor and his 'brother' Pollux were now real people, they would cause major problems in Lelouch's own plans. And not only that...if they caught up with Malthus, then his only connection to the information he needed would be gone. Then again, it's not like he can go back to school, right?

"That's right, C.C., mother him like the little baby he is."

Lelouch recognized the voice as Nemo's. She chuckled.

"Nemo...what happened with Castor?"

Nemo stopped laughing. She sighed.

"I managed to wake up just as he was about to kill your unconcious self. I wrestled your body away from him, and teleported back here. You've practically been in a coma ever since."

"If that's true, then we have to get out of here. Before Castor brings _them_ here."

Lelouch's eyes quickly opened. He recognized the voice, but he just couldn't believe it. It would be too unreal to be true. Despite this, he sat up and scanned the entire room. Then, he saw him. Lelouch saw him sitting a little bit of distance away from Nemo. It was Malthus.

"M-Malthus?!?"

Malthus gave an approving nod to Lelouch. Lelouch just could not believe his eyes.

Nemo laughed once again. "Oh, Lelouch, you've managed to teach your _emotion-full _friend here the value of his free will! And now, voila! A new ally!"

Lelouch stared at Malthus. Malthus stared back. Malthus no longer seemed to be his old, meek self. His eyes were determined, and his face was brimming with confidence.

"Malthus...is that true?"

Malthus nodded once again. "It's true Lelouch. I don't know if you were lying or not, but you moved me with your talk of free will. I'm a special being with human emotions, and I have to take advantage of that. I don't know if our friendship was real or not, but you still made me believe. You taught me to believe in myself. I want to defeat _him_. The world will be a better place with _him_ gone."

"Malthus..." Lelouch actually felt himself being touched by Malthus's speech. However, he noticed something strange with C.C. Everytime Malthus said _him_, C.C. would cringe. Could this _him_ be the same as C.C.'s _him_?

However, before Lelouch could inquire any further, Malthus spoke up again. "It's like I said earlier. We can't stay here. We have to stay somewhere else. I'm guessing that Castor joined up with the RU, and may be planning to lead them here. We have to get as far away as possible. As far away as possible from this place, and Ashford Academy. Somewhere where they can't find us."

"Mmm..."

Nemo stood up. Lelouch, C.C., and Malthus looked at her expectantly.

"If you need a place to stay, I'd suggest Fuji in the Shizuoka Prefecture."

"Why Fuji?"

Nemo chuckled and tapped her fingers on her cheek. "Because Fuji is one of the cities in the world _least_ affected by the Doomsday Phenomena. Any place not affected by the Phenomena very much would be a good place to be, right?"

Lelouch contemplated the notion. Would Fuji be a wise choice? It was, after all, one of Japan's Special Cities. Would these people, the RU apparently, every suspect this city in particular?

"...Very well then. We'll stay there."

As they were talking, C.C. took out a briefcase and began stuffing some clothes inside. _Her_ clothes, in particular. Weirdly enough, she also tried stuffing some old slices of pizza into the briefcase.

"What are you doing, C.C?"

"I'm not going to leave _everything_ behind. I need to bring some of my stuff."

Nemo uttered a low laugh. As C.C. and Lelouch packed their stuff, the four huddled together. With a smile, Nemo snapped her fingers. The four instantly disappeared in a pink light. They would not be seeing this old shack again anytime soon.

-II-

_The Sigma Carta shall make the ability for Britannia to continue capturing and colonizing various parts of the world and renaming them numbers "null" and "void". The Holy Empire of Britannia shall also return to the Euro Universe one-third of the land taken away from the EU __**by**__ Britannia. In return, the Euro Universe shall allow Britannia to have the support of the militaries of the nations ceded back any time it is necessary to Britannia._

Nunnally sat at her desk. In her hands, she held a copy of the Sigma Carta, which she had ratified only a month ago. Even to this day, she still feels unsure about it. The part that bothered her the most was the final part of the treaty.

_Lastly, as long as a period of Reconstruction of any Britannian-related nation is in progress, the militaries of the nations related to the Reconstruction must disable use of "Knightmare Frames" until Reconstruction is complete. Use of Knightmares can only be allowed if it is absolutely necessary._

Nunnally found herself being distrusting of the President of the Euro Universe, that Regulus R. Radcliff. It may have just been a trap to disable Britannia. For all anyone knew, the EU wanted to rise back in rank in world power, and dominate Britannia.

Nunnally yelped and violently shook her head. It was unlike her to act so paranoid.

_Why am I so suspicious? Why am I still thinking about this? Is it really the Carta that I'm so worried about? Or is it...Lelouch?_

Nunnally grew silent. She set the copy of the Carta down on her desk. She took a deep breath and reminisced about her older brother.

-

_Nunnally, you're hurt! Please hold on, I'll make it better!_

_I promise you, Nunnally, we'll see them all again. Euphy, Suzaku, mother...we'll see them all again._

_Foolish little sister. You think I will falter before you? No. I am the Emperor of Britannia, and neither Schneizel nor you can stop me._

_Nunna...I destroyed a world...I made one..._

-

_Lelouch...are you still out there? Nemo..._

As if on cue, Nemo appeared in Nunnally's office in a pink flash of light.

"Hello there, my white witch."

Nunnally stared at Nemo. "You've been out much longer than usual. Where have you been going?"

Nemo smiled and flared her nostrils. She sat on Nunnally's desk and stared into the empress's eyes. "I don't feel obligated to tell you."

"You've been with Lelouch," Nunnally correctly deduced.

Nemo clapped three times. "Very good, Nunna."

"Lelouch...has he inquired about me?"

"Like sister, like brother. He tries as hard as he can not to discuss you, just like how you try hard to not bring him up in our conversations. Well, except for now."

Nemo felt that she was sitting on something. She reached down and grabbed the copy of the Sigma Carta, which was laying near her rear. "Oh, reviewing for a test, are we?"

"I'm...still worried. We're in Reconstruction right now here in the Britannian homeland. And the Phenomena...it's so worrying."

Nemo raised an eyebrow. "What are you implying?"

"This Phenomena, the new rebellion, they must be connected somehow. I can feel it in my gut."

Nemo stayed silent, expecting Nunnally to continue talking. She did.

"And...it all comes back to geass. This power. Speaking of which..."

Nunnally stared fiercely into Nemo's eyes. "From what I know from C.C., contractors should only have immortality and a few small powers. Yet, you have an entire arsenal of supernatural powers for use. Why is that, Nemo? Tell me."

The usual sarcastic smile disappeared from Nemo's face. She deeply sighed.

"You really want to know, Nunnally?"

"I must know more. I _need_ to know more."

Nemo got off the desk. She paced the area in front of Nunnally. "Ok then. Nunnally, remember when I told you about R's Dimension, and all that? Well, here's a shocking revelation for you. _I _originated from R's Dimension."

Nunnally was dumbfounded. All this time, she believed that Nemo was just like C.C., and had roots tracing back to C's World. But could this really be the truth? Nemo is actually from C's World's opposite, R's Dimension?

"About 400 years ago, I was a conscious from R's Dimension. While in R's Dimension, an _oh-so_ tiny hole in the seal that seals R's Dimension appeared for perhaps half a second. I later learned that that tiny hole only appears whenever a C's World contract is fullfilled, which is rare. However, it almost always goes unnoticed. But I was one of the lucky ones who 'noticed' it, if you could say I could notice anything at all. I was basically a brainless worm wandering space. The last thing I know, I _slip_ through that hole into the human world, where I accidentally took over the body of the dead contractor. Since that body was still connected to C's World, when I possessed it, _I_ became bound to C's World, and became a contractor myself. However, since I became a contractor by unnatural means, I bypassed the normal restrictions. I retained my powers from R's Dimension, which is why I am standing before you today."

Nunnally exhaled. She did not know that Nemo was _this_ unique. Far more unique than C.C.

The smile returned to Nemo's face. She heartily laughed again. "There's your lesson for today, Nunnally! There'll be a test tomorrow."

Nunnally didn't share with Nemo's laughter. She always found it hard to understand Nemo's humor, if it even was humor. Nunnally went back to doing her paperwork. Nemo crossed her arms and pouted.

"Aw, you're no fun! If you're just going to do papers all day, then I'll hang out somewhere else."

Nemo disappeared again, in that same familiar pink light. The minute Nemo left, Nunnally began thinking about Lelouch again.

_Lelouch...I just know that we are going to meet again in the future. Whether we want to or not. Will it be a happy reunion? Or will we be on opposing sides for a second time?_

-III-

"Welcome to Fuji Major! You will have a party of three?"

"Correct," Lelouch replied. He, C.C., and Malthus were checking into a grand hotel. They were currently in Fuji in the Shizuoka Prefecture. They were wearing some minor disguises (wigs, hats, etc.) so no one would recognize them.

"Very good! Any chance you know how long you will be staying here?"

"Four months, at the most," C.C. chimed in.

"Oh, fun time! Yet also expensive."

"We just finished college," Malthus added. "We felt like we needed time for ourselves, so our parents gave us money for a little four month vacation."

"That is wonderful! If you want a fun time, make sure you see the Karigane Festival next Saturday!"

"We'll be sure to do that," Lelouch said as he took the key for the suite. The three headed off to their hotel room.

-

C.C. entered the hotel room. She dropped her bags, stretched her arms and yawned.

"This is definitely better than that old shack!"

C.C. took off her hat, and Malthus and Lelouch took off their wigs. As the group began unpacking, Malthus spoke more with Lelouch. He told Lelouch more about the current events. He told them about Geass Complications, about the RU, and more about the Phenomena and R's Dimension. Lelouch marveled on how easily Malthus talked to him. It looked like his Castor persona actually did some good.

-

The three went over to an isolated area on the beach. C.C. brought a folding chair, a large umbrella and a box of pizza. Lelouch and Malthus didn't bring anything, only swimming trunks.

However, they didn't go swimming. The minute they arrived on the beach, Malthus attacked Lelouch. He and Lelouch began sparring, honing Lelouch's mysterious new physical abilities.

C.C. watched with interest as she ate her pizza.

Malthus threw a barrage of punches at Lelouch. Without so much as breaking a sweat, Lelouch dodged every single one of them. Feeling very confident, Lelouch prepared to perform a round house kick. Malthus drew a single breath, and grabbed Lelouch's leg as it was about to make contact. A gasp escaped Lelouch, as Malthus prepared to flip Lelouch. Thinking quickly, Lelouch thrust his body forward, managing to escape Malthus's grasp. He grinned at Malthus.

"You're gonna have to do better than that!"

Malthus chuckled. "Just watch me!"

Malthus stepped back, then front flipped over to Lelouch. This caught him off guard, as Malthus landed a kick on Lelouch's shoulder, bringing him to his knees. Reacting quickly, Lelouch backflipped, in the process kicking Malthus in the mouth. Malthus appeared to be unphased by this, and lunged towards Lelouch. Lelouch also lunged towards Malthus. Their hands met, and the two struggled to wear the other one down.

"Malthus, why do you appear so ambitious to get so close to me?" Lelouch questioned as the struggle continued.

"Even if you didn't feel it, we connected somehow. Even right now, you talk to me as if I were one of your closest friends," Malthus replied, trying to keep balance.

"Just how do I know you're not planning to stab me in the back?" Lelouch asked, beginning to edge forward.

"If I were a double agent, I would have alerted the others to this location by now," Malthus said, stopping Lelouch from going forward.

The struggle appeared to be in equilibrium. Then, the two jumped back at the same time. Lelouch unleashed onslaughts of jabs and punches on Malthus. Malthus easily blocked each of them.

"Another question, Malthus! Why do I have this physical prowess in the first place?"

Malthus narrowly blocked a lethal punch from Lelouch. "My guess is that it's an early effect from the Phenomena! When you were resurrected out of geass, some of the R's Dimension energy affected you, giving you these powers!"

Then, Lelouch managed to sneak in a punch to Malthus's stomach. Malthus gasped as the air was knocked out of him. Lelouch shoved him to the ground, and he towered above him. Lelouch believed that he had beaten Malthus.

"Hmph. This was too easy, Malthus."

Malthus grinned, reached up and touched his right eye. Lelouch saw a green geass sigil light up in his eye.

"What the-?!?"

Suddenly, Malthus disappeared. Lelouch was left confused for a moment. His heart was racing quickly. Then, he felt powerful arms come around his neck. The arms belonged to Malthus. Malthus had Lelouch in a headlock, one that Lelouch could not seem to squirm out of. Malthus smiled in victory.

"Something you taught me: don't let your guard down for even half a second."

Malthus released his grip on Lelouch. Lelouch rubbed his neck, and stared at Malthus. "I forgot you guys have geass."

"That's right. Very powerful geass."

"If you can teleport...then how come before, when we were still enemies, you didn't teleport to my own location?"

Malthus sighed. "It's not that simple. I can only teleport to areas that I know about and have set foot in. So I had no idea where you were. However, if my geass ever manages to 'maximize its maximization', then I'll be able to teleport anywhere I want in an instant."

"Maximize...the maximization?"

"Yes. It's when a maximimum power geass is maximized even further."

_Maximizing the maximum power? Is that even possible? Can...my geass do that?_

-IV-

The superior sat down in his rolling chair. He looked around the room...if it could even be considered a room. One word could define the area he was in: nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was only the superior, and his chair, surrounded by simultaneous darkness and lightness. R's Dimension was actually pretty boring.

The superior sighed. He brought his hand up into the air (if there was any air to begin with). Then, a picture of C.C. appeared in front of him. She was smiling, and very happy. On her wrist was a homemade bracelet.

"Oh, C.C. If only things could go back to the old times."

He snapped his fingers. The picture went away, and was replaced with a new one. It was of Lelouch, only he was dead and in his coffin.

"Britannia...you _will_ complete my plans. I will see to it."

The superior snapped his fingers one last time. One final picture appeared. It was a picture of that lady, the woman that Lelouch killed by engulfing her into nothingness. It was a picture of Lelouch's mother, Marianne vi Britannia.

The superior frowned. "Marianne...it was supposed to be you. But you evaded me."

**-New chapter finished. It looks like we have a brand new version of the **_**not-so-holy**_** Trinity. By the way, in the future, expect more Black Knights. Also expect the return of a certain redhead...-**


	15. Dream Ballet

Chapter 14: Dream Ballet

-I-

_Date: October 1, 2020 a.t.b., 10:00 PM_

Ohgi looked into the mirror. He took his toothbrush and began brushing his teeth. He was looking forward to going to sleep. As Prime Minister of Japan, the past week had been particularly hard on him. First, he had to worry about this new "Phenomena" of sorts, plus all his regular work. Perhaps a good night's sleep would set his mind straight.

"Ohgi, come say goodnight to your daughter!" Viletta called out from another room.

_"Um, I'll be rt der!"_ Ohgi replied, his toothbrush still in his mouth. He quickly finished his business, and set off into the other room.

Ohgi entered his child's bedroom. It was a simple room, with toys strewn about and the baby's crib on the side of the wall. Viletta was standing next to the crib.

Ohgi smiled and walked to his wife's side. He stared down at his daughter. She was quietly sleeping, her tan face and brown hair lying on her pillow. Ohgi put his head down and gave her a little kiss on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Karen."

Ohgi sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

_Kallen, where could you have gone off to?_

Viletta took Ohgi's hand, and the two walked back to their own bedroom. She tenderly placed her lips on his lips, and the two made love.

-

After making love, Ohgi was still awake. He looked at his wife to his side. She slept soundly. Ohgi deeply sighed and closed his eyes. Eventually, he fell asleep.

-

_I opened my eyes. I looked around, and saw that I was no longer sleeping with Viletta in my bed. I was in my child's bedroom. I couldn't tell if I was dreaming or not, but the feeling I felt at that moment certainly felt real._

_I examined the room. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. However, there was something I noticed about every wall...they were blank._

_"What the..." I looked at each wall another time. And again. And again. But no matter what, I couldn't find a door._

_I began to panic. I tried waking myself up, but to no avail. I then went over to my child's bed. Karen was right there, sleeping exactly the way I had found her._

_Seeing my child there made me feel a little more relieved, but I still had no idea what I was doing here. I felt around my clothes, looking for anything to contact the outside world. But since I was just wearing my bed clothes, I couldn't find anything, as people don't normally put possessions on their persons when they go to bed._

_"Ohgi...been a long time."_

_I was shocked to hear another voice. Was I not the only one in the room? I believe I heard the voice coming from my child's crib. I turned to look at the crib again, but my child was gone!_

_"Karen!"_

_"She's right here, Ohgi."_

_I turned around again. This time, I saw another man, who was holding Karen in his arms. She still slept. I studied the man's face, which was all too familiar._

_"Lelouch!"_

_Lelouch smiled. "Ohgi, I see you're doing well. You have a beautiful child."_

_I growled. Seeing this madman holding my child infuriated me. "Give her back to me!"_

_Lelouch laughed. "Ohgi, this is a dream! Even if something were to happen to your daughter in this dream world, it's not like your real daughter will be hurt."_

_"I don't care! Give her back to me this instant!"_

_Lelouch shrugged, and held Karen out for me to get. I rushed forward and grabbed my child from him. Suddenly, as she slipped into my arms, she began crying._

_"No, no, Karen, please don't cry."_

_Still it continued. Karen continued to cry and bawl. Lelouch waited expectantly._

_"What the hell did you do to her, you bastard?!?"_

_"I did nothing, Prime Minister of Japan. Perhaps it is you who is doing something."_

_Lelouch stepped forward, and took Karen away from me. I opened my mouth to yell at him, but stopped when I saw Karen stop crying. She fell asleep once again. How could...this demon calm her down?_

_"Ohgi, you love this child, right?"_

_"You know I do! I'd do anything for her!"_

_Lelouch stared into my eyes. "What are you willing to sacrifice for her?"_

_I was angry with these questions, but I still managed to come up with an answer. "Money, power, wealth, prestige, everything!"_

_"But suppose you gave up everything. And she still was in danger. And you had nothing left. What would you give up?"_

_I stared at Lelouch fiercely. "I'd give my life. I'd stab myself in the heart if I knew she would be out of danger because of it."_

_"What if I told you...that there is someone who will take everything from you. Your money, your wealth...your life and even your daughter. And what if I told you that that someone will do all of that in just a few months."_

_"I'd find that bastard at this very moment and get rid of him so that he'll never lay his dirty hands on my family."_

_Lelouch smiled. He handed Karen back to me. This time, when I held her in my arms, she didn't cry. _

_"Ohgi, help me. Help me take down that man that will ruin everything."_

_"How can I help you? You're dead."_

_Lelouch laughed and said two words. "Fuji Shizuoka."_

-

With a gasp, Ohgi woke back up. He looked around and saw that he was back in his room. Viletta was still sleeping beside him. The clock read **11:30**.

Ohgi lay his head back down on his pillow. He thought about that weird dream.

_Fuji...Shizuoka?_

-II-

_Date: October 1, 2020 a.t.b., 2:00 PM_

"Hey, Sugiyama, get me some braised artichokes!"

"Sure thing, Minami!"

It was a quiet day in the _MiSuTa_ bistro **(**_**MiSuTa **_** are the first two letters of Sugiyama, Minami and Tamaki combined). **As usual, Minami was at the front desk in the bistro, and Sugiyama was in the back cooking. Tamaki was nowhere to be seen.

_Ring!_

Another customer came into the bistro. Minami recognized her.

"Hey, Ayame! What's going on!"

The girl came up to the desk and ran her hand through her purple hair. "Oh, nothing. Hey, where's Tamaki?"

"Beats me. He might be in his office sleeping again. Could you go look for him?"

"Sure!" Ayame went into the back, heading for Tamaki's office. She passed by Sugiyama on the way.

"Hey, Sugiyama!"

"Hey, Ayame!"

"Later, Sugiyama!"

"Later, Ayame!"

Ayame opened the door to Tamaki's office. Sure enough, he was asleep on the job. His head was on a bunch of paperwork, and drool was flowing out of his mouth.

"Hey Tamaki, wake up!"

Tamaki didn't do what she asked. He continued snoring loudly.

Ayame shook Tamaki's arm. "I said wake up!"

Tamaki did not so much as budge. He was off in his own world...

-

_"Yeah, let's go ladies!"_

_If this is a dream, let me just say that's it's one of the best fantasies I've ever had when I wasn't high! I'm on top of the world! I'm the king of the world, and I'm in my treasure room. Surrounded around me and my throne is all the money in the world, and I have three be-a-youtiful ladies!_

_"Tamaki, you're so hot!" Ayame declared._

_"You're the awesomest guy in the world!" Ichijiku said dreamily._

_"Let's have some fun!" Mutsuki challenged._

_I chuckled and put my arms around all of them. "If it's fun you want, it's fun you get!" I then clapped my hands. "Bring in the entertainment!"_

_The huge doors to my treasure room opened. The entertainment came in. There were dancers, singers, and even giant elephants coming in! I cackled out loud, excited about the fun time I was going to have._

_"Alright, how about we-"_

_I stopped talking. A certain music hit my ears, and I was immediately pulled into its song. Somewhere among the crowd, I heard it. The music was coming from an instrument being played by a man. I searched the crowd, looking for the source of that odd music. Finally, I looked to the top of one of the elephants. Sitting on an elephant was a man playing some instrument that I had never seen before._

_The man stopped playing and smiled at me. His voice seemed to echo over everyone elses, "Some entertaining music for my best friend."_

_I felt like something struck me through the heart. There was only one guy I had ever called my best friend._

_In an instant, all the entertainment disappeared, including the girls. My throne was gone, and I was now alone among my vast treasures in my dark room. You probably can't call it alone, as __**he**__ was standing right in front of me._

_"Z-Zero?!?"_

_The man chuckled and began walking towards me. "Zero, Lelouch, whatever you want to call me."_

_"B-but...oh, I get it. I'm dreaming, duh!" I slapped myself (lightly) on the head. "Of course I'm dreaming! Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just pinch myself awake."_

_I then pinched myself. I did not wake up, but I did cause a sharp pain to go through my arm._

_"Hey, ow! Wait, why am I still in my dreams?"_

_"You won't wake up until we're done with our conversation."_

_Angry, I pointed at him. "Nothing to talk about. You, you betrayed us and manipulated us! I trusted you! I called you my best friend, for god's sake!"_

_"But what I did, was it not for the best? After all, without me, you'd all still be in the gutters following Ohgi's hopeless orders."_

_This kind of caught me off guard. He did have a point. It was him who organized us in the first place. But..._

_"It don't give no matter! You still used us for your own gain. You used us, you brainwashed Kallen-"_

_"I did not brainwash her!" Lelouch shouted angrily. He then relaxed himself back into his easy composure. "She came along willingly. I never used my geass to force her to join me. She understood what I was trying to do-"_

_"Until she found out about your true colors! She almost died trying to fight you! I only thank the lord almighty that Suzaku rebelled against you and killed you!"_

_"Tamaki, do you really hate me that much?"_

_I struggled to reply. "Yes. I do."_

_"Not one part of you still thinks of me as a good guy?"_

_I thought for a moment then shook my head. "Not, er, no."_

_"What if I told you that I purposely made the world hate me? So that when I died, peace would be restored?"_

_I wasn't sure what to think. Could that be true? I wanted to believe against it, but my gut was making me think otherwise._

_"I...I..."_

_"If you want to find out more, then think about going to Fuji Shizuoka."_

-

"Gahah!"

Tamaki woke up instantly. He looked around the office. He turned to see Ayame with a cooking pan. Sugiyama was standing beside her.

"Never mind, Ayame. He's awake."

Tamaki looked at the two of them and scratched his head. He thought about Lelouch's last words to him.

_Fuji...Shizuoka?_

-III-

_Date: October 1, 2020 a.t.b., 8:00 PM_

_Cough, cough!_

Xingke lay in his bed, feeling very sick. As he coughed and coughed, more blood came out of his mouth. His illness had gotten worse, reaching into its final stages before ultimately killing him.

Xianglin put a cold, wet rag on Xingke's head. She looked at him, her face full of worry. "Li..."

Tianzi lay next to Xingke. She put her hand on his hand. "Xingke, please get better."

Xingke chuckled and looked at Tianzi's face. "Don't worry. I'm a lot stronger than this."

Xingke violently coughed again, covering his mouth with his hand. He looked at his hand. Coagulated blood covered his palm.

Tears began welling up in Tianzi's eyes. "Xingke..."

"Please don't cry, Tianzi. If you cry, I'll get worse."

Tianzi looked at Xingke with worried eyes. She nodded and tried swallowing the tears down.

Xianglin sighed. "You'e getting worse, Li. I'm not sure how much time you have before...you know."

Tianzi looked at her angrily. "Xingke won't die! He fulfilled his promise of bringing me to see the outside world, so I'm going to fulfill _my_ promises to him! He won't die until then!"

Xingke put his nonbloody hand on Tianzi's arm. "Tianzi, I wish to sleep now. May I please request of you to lower your voice?"

Tianzi nodded and put her hand on Xingke's forehead. "I'll stay right by you as as you sleep. I will protect you."

Xingke chuckled lightly and closed his eyes. He slowly drifted off to sleep.

-

_I opened my eyes. I was apparently lying down facing up. It seemed like I was outside, as the blue sky hovered above me. I took a moment to look at the vessel I was lying down in. Was it...a coffin?_

_I sat up and looked around. There were many people sitting in chairs in front of me. They appeared to be mourning._

_I noticed Tianzi and Xianglin at the front. Xianglin looked solemn and sad. Tianzi was crying very hard, constantly dabbing her eyes with a washcloth._

_I saw what seemed to be a priest giving some sort of sermon. He, along with everyone else, was wearing typical Chinese funeral clothing. This couldn't have been...my funeral?!?_

_"Wait, I'm still alive!"_

_I cried out to everyone. However, it didn't seem like anyone could hear me. _

_"Hey!"_

_I tried getting out of the coffin. However, it seemed like I was paralyzed from the waist down. I couldn't get out._

_"Hey, someone, get me out of here!"_

_Everyone at my funeral stood up and got into a single file line. One by one, they came to me and spoke to me._

_"Li..."_

_"With that illness...it was a wonder you took this long."_

_Soon, Xianglin came up._

_"Li, I'll miss you."_

_Tianzi came up afterwards. The minute she laid her eyes on me, enormous tears welled up in her face again._

_"Xingke! XINGKE!!!" She shrieked. She grabbed ahold of me, pushing her face against my chest._

_"Tianzi! I'm alive!"_

_I tried putting my hand on her head, but to my surprise, the hand just went through her. Tianzi was shrieking and bawling, and Xianglin had to drag her away from me._

_"Xingke! Xingke!"_

_"Tianzi!"_

_I reached for her, desperate to get out of this coffin. But this odd paralysis wouldn't let me do it. My own tears began clouding my vision. Every single person remaining said empty words to me, and none of them could help me. None except one..._

_"This isn't a very good feeling, is it Xingke?"_

_I looked at the person who talked to me. My eyes opened wide. It was the demon of Britannia himself._

_"Lelouch!"_

_Lelouch smiled and placed a hand on my coffin. Immediately, everything changed. All the other people, Tianzi and Xianglin included, were gone. All that was left was me, my coffin, Lelouch, and the outside. I still could not move out of the coffin._

_"You're dead. I saw you die."_

_An odd smile came on Lelouch's face. He placed his hand on his face, close to his left eye._

_"You're right and wrong. You saw me die, and I did die. But I'm still alive."_

_"Everything makes sense now. This is a dream. Why else would you be standing before me?"_

_"Xingke, you are slowly dying. Before long, you will be dead, and this dream will become reality. All the people who you love will disappear from you forever."_

_"..."_

_I knew that what he said was true. This disease was taking its final toll on me. Soon, I will have nothing left to give, and it will take my life in exchange. Everything will be over._

_"But...wouldn't you like to make one final act of bravery before that happens?"_

_"Just what do you mean?"_

_"You can help me stop the Phenomena. You can help me stop it from taking everyone's lives, including Tianzi."_

_"You think I'm going to make a promise to a figment of my dream world? You're dead!"_

_"Fuji, Shizuoka."_

-

Slowly, Xingke opened his eyes again. He looked to his side. Tianzi was there, sleeping quietly. Xingke pondered the meaning of the dream.

_Was that really a dream? Or something more? Fuji..._

-IV-

_Date: October 1, 2020 a.t.b., 11:00 PM_

The hot steam hovered in the bathroom air. It flowed from the shower, where a man was cleansing himself. It had been a long day. Oh, so long.

Tohdoh sighed and placed a hand on the wall to hold himself up. He let the warm water flow down his back, cleansing him.

As he was once the head of the Black Knights' military operations under Zero, he retained this position under the U.F.N. It was a tough job, and it frequently made him exhausted.

_Knock knock!_

Tohdoh looked to the bathroom door. He had no doubt who knocked.

"What do you want, Chiba?"

"Um...I wanted to see how you're doing."

"It's late. Go home."

"Um...sir?"

Tohdoh was getting frustrated. He turned around quickly to face the door.

"Wha-"

Tohdoh failed to see a bar of soap dropped on the shower floor. Without warning, he slipped on it and hit his head on the wall. He did not die, but he fell unconcious.

"Tohdoh? Tohdoh!"

-

_I opened my eyes. I was in a limousine, driving along a highway. I looked down. I appeared to be wearing a tuxedo. I wasn't sure what was going on. The last I remember, I was showering before I slipped on a bar of soap. I looked around the limo. Aside from the driver, I was not the only one in the limousine._

_"Hey, Tohdoh's awake!"_

_I blinked several times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. The man who just talked was Shogo Asahina, a dead member of the Four Holy Swords._

_"Now this party can get started!"_

_This time, the voice came from Ryoga Senba, another dead member of the Holy Swords. Just what was going on?_

_"Aw, we could've partied without grouchy Tohdoh!"_

_Following the pattern, Kosetsu Urabe talked. All the dead Holy Swords were here, alive and well. But that just can't be true, can it?_

_"You don't know what you're talking about! Tohdoh's plenty of fun!"_

_Nagisa Chiba, sitting next to me, talked next. It looked like every single Holy Sword was here right now. This was mind boggling._

_"Where are we?" I asked them._

_Asahina chuckled. "Why, we're having a limo party, what does it look like?"_

_"What is there to party about?"_

_Urabe slapped me on the back. "We're just partying for the heck of it!"_

_"If you're all really here...shouldn't you be training or doing some kind of physical exercise?"_

_Senba raised an eyebrow. "What, you think we're in the military or something?"_

_"Well, you are the Four Holy Swords."_

_Chiba laughed out loud. "We're not exactly holy, and we don't have any swords or military experience! What's up with you?"_

_I was getting rather confused. I looked down on the ground. "I'm...not sure. Perhaps the Doomsday Phenomena is getting to my head and giving me bad nightmares."_

_"Doomsday Phenome huh?" Urabe questioned. "You've gone crazy, Tohdoh man!"_

_I was getting more and more frustrated. How could they have not heard about the Phenomena?_

_"Could the Phenomena...be altering reality?"_

_"No, it's just me doing that."_

_I looked at the driver. I wasn't sure what he meant by 'him' altering reality. Then, he changed the rear view mirror so it would show his face. The face that showed up on the mirror was very much alive, far different from what I remember._

_"Zero."_

_Just like that, the Four Holy Swords disappeared. Not only that, all the other cars on the highway disappeared, as well. It was just me and Lelouch in a limousine on a seemingly unending highway._

_"Surprised to see me again, Kyoshiro?"_

_Actually, I was not. This entire time, the former dead have been showing up. I didn't think it would be long before Lelouch himself appeared. _

_"I guess you're not."_

_I laughed a little to myself and edged closer to the driver's seat. I faced away from Lelouch and sighed._

_"So all this was for your orchestra."_

_"What do you mean by that?"_

_"Everything you did, so everything will be restored. You organized it all into an orchestra, or should I say, ballet. All to help the world."_

_"Yet you still think of me as a demon."_

_I smiled. He was right about that._

_"You are a demon. Even if your motives were for the good, you still manipulated us."_

_"It is as you said, Tohdoh. All for my ballet."_

_I closed my eyes. I reminisced about the past._

_"It was Kallen who confirmed my suspicions. At the execution of the Black Knights, I was skeptical at first about Suzaku actually wanting to kill you. But now I believe he only went against you to be for you. You asked him to kill you, right?"_

_Lelouch stayed quiet. He stared into the unending highway._

_"Lelouch, even when we betrayed you, I still felt some trust in Zero buried deep in my heart. No matter what, it never went away. And even now...I still have some trust...Zero."_

_"And will that trust be enough for you to help me?"_

_"Help you what?"_

_"Stop the Phenomena. Destroy it."_

_"But how? How is it possible?" I questioned._

_"Come...to Fuji in the Shizuoka Prefecture."_

_I turned to look at Lelouch. "Why?"_

-

With a gasp, Tohdoh woke up. He was lying down on the bathroom floor. He used his hands to help himself get up. He saw that he was wearing some new clothes.

"Just you wait, Toh-, ay!"

Chiba came in, surprised to see Tohdoh awake already. She dropped the towels that she held in her hand.

"Chiba, what happened?"

"Well, you slipped in the shower. I knew you weren't dead, since you still had a pulse, so I dragged you out and dressed you up. D-don't worry, I didn't see any indecent parts of you!" Chiba blurted out.

Tohdoh stood up. His face was full of determination.

"Call the Black Knights. Ohgi, Tamaki, Xingke, everyone who was once part of the rebellion. We're going to Fuji."

-V-

_Date: October 2, 2020 a.t.b., 9:00 PM_

Lelouch looked at his sleeping companions in the hotel room. C.C. and Malthus were off in their dream worlds. Lelouch quietly put on some outside clothing and slipped out of the room.

Lelouch walked down the hallway, planning to go outside. As he walked, Nemo suddenly appeared beside him.

"Having fun using my powers?"

Lelouch grunted and continued walking. Nemo followed him.

"You were such a bore yesterday during the Karigane Festival. You didn't do anything!"

"I was conversing with Tamaki and Xingke."

Nemo cackled. "You really think they're going to accept the fact that you're alive?"

"It's a risk I'm going to have to take. I can't beat this R Universe by myself. If they do plan on killing me, I'm expecting you to get me out of there."

"And what makes you think I'll help you out of that?" Nemo said with scorn.

"It'd break Nunnally's heart to find out you let her big brother die a second time."

Nemo shrugged. "Alright then. But I won't guarantee I can get you out of there in time."

_Don't worry about that. I've got another ally there to help me._

-

Lelouch entered a dark warehouse alone. Nemo was somewhere else closeby. He walked farther into the warehouse.

Suddenly, large lights came on. Lelouch shielded his eyes, then looked to see where the lights were coming from. They came from some Knightmares, which were right beside his beloved Black Knights.

"So...it's true," Ohgi said, his voice strained.

Lelouch held out his arms to the entire army. "Greetings, my knights. It is good to see all of you again."

Xingke stepped forward. Although he was getting weaker, his will was still strong.

"Just how? How are you still alive?!?"

"In due time, explanations will be given," Lelouch answered simply.

Tamaki, shaking, pointed a gun at Lelouch. "N-no time! E-explain right now!"

"Oh, Tamaki. Aren't you willing to give your best friend _more_ time to explain himself?"

Tamaki shuddered, but lowered his weapon. He was shaking with shock and fear.

Tohdoh stepped forward this time. "Lelouch, we know you tampered with our dreams. Care to tell us why you wanted us to come here?"

Before Lelouch could explain, Chiba pushed Tohdoh aside and pointed a gun at Lelouch. Her face was full of anger.

"We don't need to know anything! We just need to know that you manipulated us! You don't deserve a second chance at life!"

"Enough!" Tohdoh ordered.

"No, not enough! He should go rot back in hell, and I'm going to be the one to send him the-"

Someone kicked Chiba to the ground. She fell down, dropping her gun. The mysterious person then jumped forward in front of Lelouch. Her red hair flowed in the crisp air. Her eyes were closed.

Ohgi's eyes widened. "You're, you're back!"

Lelouch grinned. "Welcome back...Kallen."

-

Kallen slowly opened her eyes. She stared at the entire Black Knights army in front of her. She held a single pistol in her hand. She was basically guarding Lelouch with her life.

"Kallen, I've been worried about you!" Ohgi cried out. "I thought you were hurt, or maybe worse!"

Kallen didn't answer. She only nodded in approval.

"Kallen baby! You knew about this?" Tamaki thought out loud.

"Miss Kozuki, care to tell us the whole story?" Tohdoh requested.

Kallen turned to look at Lelouch. Her eyes glittered with a combination of nervousness and admiration. "I..."

**(RE R)**

_Kallen faces the Black Knights._

_"Back...when we met again..."_

_The Sub Stage, The Sub Chapter, Chapter 6.649: __**Code Kallen**_

**(RE R)**

**-I realize how long it's been. I realize how much all of you are frustrated that I frequently updated my other stories many times before this one. I've just been experiencing the worst kind of writer's block every writer dreads. But I ask you to please bear with me. Imagine how long Lelouch had to wait to get the power to get revenge on Britannia. Years!**

**I have asked all of you for advice. Every writer needs some help every now and then. Well now I ask you for more advice. In the future, I'm planning to make military style battles between armies in the upcoming chapters. I was wondering if any of you know any good sources to get information on formations, squadrons, all of that military junk. ALL help is appreciated. Thank you, and reviewing always helps.-**


	16. Sub Chapter: Code Kallen

Sub-Chapter 6.649: Code Kallen

"I..."

Kallen stopped. She was still unsure. Even if she did tell the Black Knights her story, it didn't mean that it would stop them from killing Lelouch and sending him to hell yet a second time. And not only that, Kallen knew she would put her life on the line in order to protect Lelouch. But there was not much protection she could offer. All Kallen had were her martial arts skills. The Black Knights had weapons and ammunition. Whatever Lelouch was planning...it was really risky.

"Well?" Tohdoh asked again, crossing his arms.

"Tell us or I'll post your measurements on the Internet!" Tamaki said comically in this tension-filled air.

That was almost enough for Kallen to start talking. Then, she looked at Lelouch again. He was calm and smiling.

"Go ahead. Trust me."

Reassured, Kallen nodded. She turned back to the army in front of her.

"Back...when we met again..."

---

_Date: August 15, 2020 a.t.b._

I just couldn't believe my eyes. Here I was, in Ashford Academy, with a gun. And who was I pointing the gun at? None other than Lelouch Lamperouge, er, vi Britannia.

Why is Lelouch back? Just why?!? I-it's impossible, right? Oh god, my world is

heading for a black hole...

"Then shoot me."

I gasped. 'Shoot me?' He wants me to go through with it?

Lelouch began stepping towards me. I tried to move, but found myself frozen in place. Everytime I looked at his eyes, my body would just stop functioning and working the way I wanted it to.

Lelouch grasped my gun. At first, I thought he was going to turn the tables and point it at me. But then, he changed the location my gun was pointing at. Now, it was pointing at his heart.

"I can't fight back. Geass won't work on you, for I have already used it on you. I doubt I'm in any shape to use my newfound physical prowess on you. I'm helpless. Do the world a favor, Kallen. Kill me again."

Just who the hell does he think he is?!? Trying to _test_ me? Britannia, you're pushing me.

"Don't you dare test me, Britannia!" I screamed at him. "Don't you dare!"

"I'm not testing you. I'm just giving you options. Will you let me walk free and bring destruction again? Or will you kill me and save the world from another dark era?"

I don't know why. I just couldn't stop crying. I wasn't sure if I was filled with anguish to see him again, or if I was secretly happy to see my ex-leader among the world's living. I just don't understand.

I should kill him now. When I kill him, all the stress will be off.

I pointed the gun at his head. I could see the slightest hint of fear in his eyes, but it disappeared as fast as it came.

I really thought I was going to kill him. But I guess my heart had other plans.

At the very last second...I pointed it away.

_Bang!_

The sharp crack of the bullet temporarily deafened me. The bullet shell hit the clubhouse next to me, and it fell to the ground.

I opened my eyes and looked at Lelouch again. The look in his eyes showed calmness. I couldn't tell if he was surprised or if he knew I wouldn't shoot him.

Once again, those salty tears came back to my eyes. I couldn't stand to face him any longer.

I turned around and ran away. Lelouch called after me, but I just ignored him. I just ran away. I didn't have any particular destination in mind. I just had to run away. Run away from the clubhouse. Run away from the school. Run away from _him_.

-I-

_I didn't really know what I was doing. My hero, the demon, was back. I can't really explain why, but after seeing him again, going back to Ashford Academy seemed impossible. Seeing those deep, purple eyes resurfaced my old memories of him. I wasn't sure if I was ready to face those memories head on again after not seeing him for so long. _

_The day after, my mom called me, scared that I never came home that day. I told her that everything would be fine, that I could come home soon. But it was all a lie. I needed time to think things out. Think about what I was going to do. Should I have gone to the Black Knights? I could have done that, but I knew they would likely hunt him down and kill him. Even though my mind was clouded with confusion, I clearly knew that I couldn't have Lelouch killed. Not yet, at least._

_I spent a long time figuring out what to do. But even after all that time, I was still unsure. However, I did figure out one thing. I needed to see him again_

_Date: September 7, 2020 a.t.b._

I stood at the top of the building, watching my prey. He had just left the Omotesando Mall. He turned a right, walking along the sidewalk. I followed him, jumping from building to building.

He soon stopped at an alleyway. He pulled out his cell phone and called someone. I couldn't really make out what he was saying. Afterwards, he turned off his cell phone and walked into the alley.

Midway through the alley, he stopped. It was time for me to encounter my prey.

I leaped down onto the ground. He turned around and smiled at me.

"Hello, Kallen. Good to see you."

I gave him a blank expression. "You knew I was following you?"

Lelouch let out a laugh. "Why, of course. You allowed me to know I was being followed, right?"

"Perhaps."

The two of us just stared at each other. I, with a blank expression, and he, with a calm and smiling face.

"Who were you talking to?"

"C.C. I told her I might be back later than usual. Depending on how long this little conversation takes us."

A slight smile appeared on my lips. "You too seem closer than usual."

"Yes. Even more so after we consummated."

I frowned upon hearing this. "You didn't need to tell me that."

Lelouch brought his hand up to his right eye. "I doubt you're here just to inquire upon mine and C.C.'s relationship."

I grew silent. For a while, I had already been planning for this confrontation. But now...I was wondering if expressing myself to him was really the best option.

"Kallen? I've got all the time in the world."

I put on a look of determination. This was definitely no time to be scared of Lelouch. Or nervous. Or starstruck. Or whatever the hell I was feeling.

"I always knew Lelouch...that you sacrificed yourself."

Lelouch moved some hair away from his eyes. "Hmm?"

"When you brought about your death, you expunged all the hatred of the world. No war, only reconstruction. You obtained your dream of creating a new world, even if you had to kill yourself achieving that dream."

Lelouch remained silent. He just stared at me.

"But now," I began, tearing up once again, "Why? Why are you back? If you're here, the world will just be angry again. Oh god, did you never actually kill yourself? Were you just planning to wait until the world was happy just so you could take it over again?"

Now Lelouch spoke up. He looked hurt. "Kallen, how could you say that? I already had the world under my thumb, so why kill myself just to take it over again? It's just not probable."

"You could've made people even more scared of you. By pretending that you arose from the dead, people would be paranoid about just how much power you had, and they would have feared you even more."

"That's not me, Kallen. Believe me."

"Then why?!?" I shrieked at him. "Why are you here? Answer me, Britannia! Answer me!"

"Shut your mouth and let me talk!!!"

I did as I was told. Lelouch frowned at me.

"The years have not been kind to you, Kallen. You want your answers now, because you are impatient and rash. What happened to Q-1? What happened to the Red Lotus, the Ace of the Black Knights?"

I bit my lip. I had not been called either of those names for quite some time.

"I never asked for this. I was fine with what happened to me. I was just as shocked as you were when I found out I could stand upright."

I looked at him with questionable eyes. "What happened?"

Lelouch sighed. "I don't know. All I do know is that it required someone with a magical power, such as geass."

I scoffed. "A geass that can bring the dead back to life? Sounds farfetched if you ask me."

"It's the only logical solution. I just need to know the 'why'."

I rubbed away the last of my tears. "Forget the 'why'. What about the 'who'?"

Lelouch chuckled. "The 'who' I'm almost certain about. But perhaps...you can help me, Kallen."

"Help you?"

"There are four exchange students at Ashford Academy. They're peculiar beings, but they are definitely suspects. I do know, however, that they have geass."

I groaned. "More of that stupid power. I thought I was done with that a long time ago."

"Anyway, one of the students, Malthus, appears to have some kind of teleportation geass. They use his geass to go home, wherever that home is. I was thinking that perhaps you could go to that home and find out more about them."

I scowled. "And what makes you think I'm the right person for the job?"

"You're a very stealthy person. If I can remember correctly, you once snuck out of a classroom without anyone seeing you."

"Yet _you_ knew I was following you."

"You allowed me to know."

I smirked. "True."

"What do you say? Would my former-ace like to help me out one last time?"

I thought about it. In my mind, I went through all the different options. I could go to the authorities and let them deal with this manner. I could say no and let him deal with his own problems. Or I could...

I held up one finger. "I'll help you out one more time. I still don't know if I'm happy or angry with it, but nonetheless, I'll help you."

Lelouch smiled and held out a hand. "Welcome back...ace."

I looked at his hand. It had been so long...since I made contact with my former leader. But for now at least, he wasn't former anything. He was my leader.

I shook his hand, a partnership renewed.

-II-

_Date: September 8, 2020 a.t.b._

I stood at the top of the Ashford Academy clubhouse, scoping the campus. The last bell had just rung, so all of the students were heading home. I wasn't sure exactly what these exchange students looked like, but Lelouch told me they would stick out like a Britannian school in a Japanese world.

And sure enough, I found them. The four of them were walking together. The group appeared to consist of one girl and three guys.

_The girl is probably Vivian, that gray-haired awkward looking one is probably Malthus, and the last two are Marsellus and Leonid. Time to see where they're headed._

I jumped down behind a bush. The four walked past me to a secluded area near the clubhouse.

"You three really are worthless," Vivian told her 'allies'.

Leonid pouted. "Aw, Vivian, can't you be any nicer?"

"I don't think it's the best idea to agitate her, my friend," Marsellus told Leonid.

Malthus stepped in front of the three of them. "Let's just go back."

Malthus touched his right eye, and a green circle appeared around the four of them. This truly was the work of geass.

Then, they were engulfed in a green light. At the very last second, when I was sure they couldn't see me, I put a foot into the light. Immediately, all of us disappeared from the school.

-

The minute we reappeared, wherever we were, I dashed away. I noticed some nearby bushes, so I hid behind them.

Malthus looked around. "Did you guys hear anything?"

"I didn't hear anything," Vivian said as she walked forward.

"Neither did we," Leonid said as he and Marsellus followed Vivian.

Malthus looked around one more time. "I was sure I..." Giving it up, he followed the other three.

I quickly took out my cell phone, and used it to find out exactly where I was. Immediately, a map of Queensland popped up.

I laughed to myself. _This R Universe is situated in independent Australia?_

I closed my cell and looked back at the four. They seemed to be walking to what appeared to be nothing. Then they stopped, and Vivian looked like she was pushing invisible buttons. Then, they walked forward, and disappeared again.

"What the?" I ran forward to where they once were. I was downright confused. Did Malthus use his transportation power again? I don't think he did, since there wasn't any flash of light.

I held my hand out to where Vivian was pushing. Then, it felt like I had my hand on a keypad. An invisible keypad?

I figured it out soon enough. _Must be a cloaking device put up during the day. _

I tapped my foot, wondering what I was going to do now. I had no idea what the password was, let along what the keypad looked like. Was it a 0-9 pad? Or was it a letter pad?

Then, as I was thinking, I heard chatter coming nearby. I quickly ran behind yet another bush (there wasn't really anything else to hide behind). I looked through the bush and saw a woman and a man walking to the invisible headquarters. They appeared to be just regular people, though the woman looked a little similar to me.

"Man, that Britannia just really pisses me off. Area 11, too," the man told the woman.

"Don't you mean Japan?"

"I like to use the more derogatory phrase. I'll be so glad when our superior gives us the 'okay' to take over the world and establish our minds as the most superior. No pun intended."

They walked to the invisible keypad, and input the correct combination. When it looked like they were finished, I made my move.

I rushed forward and kicked them both down.

"Hey, wha-"

I grabbed their heads and knocked them together. The two were now knocked out. I then dragged their bodies behind the shrubs, and took off the woman's uniform. I put it on, and went to the invisible entrance. Taking a deep breath, I walked forward. Literally the second after I walked in, everything came into view. It looked like I was in a reception-like area. There were receptionists and desks, and a waiting room with a television. I guess this place doubles as a reception and a break area.

I looked and saw the four exchange students walking forward. I started to follow them, but then a big, burly man stepped in front of me.

"Now hold on there, little missy. Where's your ID?"

"Um, ID, I'm sure it's here somewhere." I began feeling around my uniform, looking for an ID. I then felt a card-like object in my back pants pocket. I took it out and gave it to the man.

_Oh, crap, what if I don't look like the woma- oh wait, I think I look a little bit like her._

The angry look on the man's face dissipated as he looked at the ID. "Oh, Gillian, I couldn't tell it was you! Did you get a haircut?"

"Uh, sure."

The man nodded and stepped aside. "Have a good day, Gillian."

I nodded and went forward. The four were nowhere to be seen.

_Dammit!_ I growled. Now what was I supposed to do?

I then looked up. I saw air vents criss-crossing along the ceiling. Perhaps I could sneak around in the vents.

One question: where was I going to find a vent to sneak into?

"Oh, it's so cold in there!"

I looked to my left. There were two women. One of them was rubbing her arms.

"God, the restroom is so damn cold! They should really take out the air conditioning in it."

_Jackpot._

I headed to where the women were coming from. Sure enough, I saw the women's restroom. I went inside, and saw that there was no one else in there. Perfect.

I locked the room, and searched around for the air vent. I saw it at the top of the wall, near the sinks.

_It really is cold in here._ I rubbed my hands, and reached for the vent. After some struggling, I managed to get the grate off. A rush of cold air blew at me. It was cold, but I knew I had to put up with it. It was for Lelouch.

I went into the vent, and got on my stomach. It looked like I would have to drag myself through the ventilation system.

As I crawled through the vents, I passed some other grates leading down into different rooms. I looked down at the very first grate I saw.

There seemed to be a teacher and a bunch of six-year-olds. The teacher was sitting at a desk. She held a toy dinosaur and a toy cyclops, and her desk had several small toy people scattered around.

"Okay, kids. This dinosaur is Britannia. And this cyclops is Japan. And all of these little people are us here at the R Universe. This is what Britannia and Japan do when they see us."

The teacher proceeded to growl and roar as she hit the toy people with the monstrosities. The little kids screamed in fear.

I felt anger boiling in my veins. _Stupid idiot. Poisoning these kids with lies._

I continued forward. Eventually, I came upon another grate. Unfortunately, I still could not find the four exchange students.

What I saw appeared to be a shooting range. Many people were gathered with guns, and they were aiming at targets. I could barely make out what the targets were. To my surprise (not), they were shooting at models of the Zero mask.

I shook my head and went on with my mission. Just when I thought things were going easy, my path took a bad complicated turn.

I was now at a crossroads. There was a path ahead of me, a path to my right, and a path to my left. I had no idea which one to go to.

I sighed and relaxed myself. It looked like I would have to rely on pure luck to help me out.

_My head says straight, my body says left, and my heart says right. Which one do I listen to?_

Finally, I turned to my right. _I'm going to follow my heart._

I shivered as I continued crawling through. I'm not personally claustrophobic, but that annoying little journey through the ventilation system made me consider becoming one.

Soon, I came to a dead end. At the end was one last grate. I sucked in my breath and crossed my fingers. Hoping for the best, I looked down the grate.

_Yes!_

It looked like luck was on my side. I saw all four of them down there, in what appeared to be an auditorium. Vivian, Marsellus, Leonid, and Malthus. It seemed like they were talking to a large television screen.

"How much time do we have left, my superior?" Vivian asked.

I tried to hear what this "superior" had to say, but it only sounded like static from where I was standing, er, crouching.

"Only a few months, huh?" Leonid inquired.

_A few months for what?_

The superior spoke again.

Vivian crossed her arms. "The subject is more elusive than I thought."

"Or maybe we're just not trying hard enough," Malthus stated.

"We're trying plenty hard enough!" Leonid said in an outburst.

"Actually, I don't think we are. I'm afraid our emotions are conflicting with our mission," Marsellus said.

The superior spoke again.

Vivian sighed, exasperated. "Yes, I know it is a 'blessing' to have emotions, but what good are they if they're just hindering us?"

_Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!_

I gasped. Was I caught?

_Approximately 30 minutes ago, someone broke into HQ! An intruder is on the loose in HQ!_

Vivian snarled. "Let's go find this intruder and rip his or her head off!"

Vivian sprinted out of the auditorium, with the other three following her. When I was sure they were gone, punched the grate down and leaped down into the auditorium. However, I forgot about a certain superior...

"Ah, Miss Kallen Kozuki. What a pleasant surprise."

I looked at the static-filled television screen, shocked that this superior knew who I was. However, now was not the time to be thinking about that. Now was the time to escape.

I looked around the room, frantic to find a way out. It appeared lady luck made this my lucky day, as my eyes gazed upon a window on the wall.

_A window! How strangely convenient!_

There was still a problem. The window was very high up on the wall. There was nothing that I could use as steps up to the window. It looked like I would have to run up the wall.

I prepared myself for a daring feat. _It's time to run Suzaku-style!_

With complete determination, I sped towards the wall, faster than I have ever gone before in my life. I sped faster and faster as I reached the wall, careful not to slow down even the slightest bit.

Although it took a lot of my energy, I managed to run up the wall. When I finally arrived at the window, I hurried and grabbed onto the bulging window pane. I made sure not to look down.

One of my hands was hanging onto the window pane. I clenched the other into a fist, seeing as there was no other way to break down the window. Gathering all my energy, I delivered a powerful crunching punch to the window. It burst open.

As the window cracked, some glass fell onto my hand. I had to ignore the pain for now; I couldn't let it get to me, not when I was this far.

In a great leap of faith, I jumped out of the window. Luckily, my landing "platform" was a bunch of sand, so I didn't have to worry about falling to my death.

I braced myself and landed on the sand. The sand "puffed" up, but I was okay. I looked back at the HQ. It was invisible again.

I knew that someone was going to come out sooner or later. I stood up and ran away. I ran farther and farther until the area was no longer visible. I had escaped.

-

"I'm sorry, Lelouch. I couldn't find out much."

"Very well, then," Lelouch said, his voice coming out of my phone. "What _did_ you find out?"

"They seem to have a superior of sorts. However, I don't know what this superior looks like, as I could only hear his voice coming out of a television screen."

"A superior, huh? Thank you for your help, Kallen. Oh, and I apologize. I guess it's my fault you're in Australia, far away from Japan."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I actually think I'll stay here for now. The Aborigines are very nice people."

Lelouch was silent on the other end.

"Lelouch, if you need my help again, just give me a call."

"I'll do that, Kallen. Good bye."

We hung up. And I did stay in Australia...until Lelouch asked me to come to Fuji.

---

Kallen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her story was finished.

Tohdoh was the first one to speak up. "I see. So this R Universe is responsible for the Phenomena?"

"Quite possibly," Lelouch said. "That's why I gathered all of you here."

"And you think we'll help you?" Ohgi asked haughtily.

That unnerving calmness remained present in Lelouch's face. "My fellow Knights, a new danger is coming to the world. Take a minute and ask yourself, who is the best one to lead you against this brand new threat?"

The Black Knights talked amongst themselves. It seemed like they were all saying the same thing.

Kallen spoke. "Even if Lelouch _did_ betray us...it was for the better cause. He led us so well in the old days, there's no doubt he's the best leader now."

The Black Knights grew silent. All grew silent. A decision had to be made.

Finally, Xingke spoke up for the entire army. "We hate you, Lelouch. We hate how you used us. But...you are a natural leader. If you had stayed with us, you could have liberated all those who have been wronged. That is why...we'll join you one last time."

Lelouch grinned.

"But just understand," Xingke added, "we're doing this for the world. If we sense that you will betray us again, you will go down. Hard."

Ohgi looked thoughtfully at Kallen. "Kallen...are you sure?"

Kallen nodded confidently. "Absolutely."

"Lelouch, it looks like you've gathered the old gang back up."

Kallen and Lelouch turned around. C.C. was coming, with Malthus beside her.

"Hmph. You've got your precious Knights back under your wing."

"I pretty much grew my life thinking you guys were just a bunch of hacks and pawns in my superior's master plan!" Malthus revealed. "But now I see, you guys are the real thing! You guys could really have the potential to take down the RU!"

Lelouch laughed and held out his arms to the Black Knights. "I dub thee...the New World Order of the Black Knights!"

**-Hey guys, I'm back! My updating times are less than desirable, I know. I will admit that Kingdom Hearts hold slightly higher importance in my heart, but don't worry! I'll still follow Code Geass to the end, and this story will be finished if it's the last thing I do!**

**By the way, have any of you guys heard about the new Code Geass manga, "Code Geass: The Jet-Black Renya"? It takes place in the Edo period, and it's about a 17 year old guy named Renya. Renya, get this, has a mechanical arm that shoots shuriken. I say: epic fail. The story begins when Renya meets C.C. -Sigh- I can't help but think it'll be bad. What's the point of Code Geass without Lelouch? Nevertheless, I'll still read/watch it.**

**You guys, reviews always help me out! Point out any errors in the storyline, and I'll do my best to fix them! For example, I slightly changed up Chapter 13: The Lelouch Complex to fix up the storyline a bit! With that said, R&R!!!-**


	17. Reflections

Chapter 15: Reflections

_Date: September 30, 2020 a.t.b._

-I-

The sun was shining. Birds were singing, and the weather was perfectly cool. It was such a peaceful day. It could have fooled anyone out of the current dangers of the world.

Suzaku Zero was not one of these people. Suzaku lay on the ground, at the foot of the glimmering lake. All around him were beautiful pink and white flowers. Despite the fact that it was not yet spring, the flowers were blooming into perfection. For all anyone knew, it could have been a phenomenon.

Suzaku took a deep breath. It was hard to breathe wearing that stuffy Zero helmet all day. But Suzaku put up with it. It was not yet time to show the unmasked face.

The unmasked face. Lelouch. Depression. These were the daily parts of Suzaku Zero's life. Nowadays, it was hard to think about anything else. Suzaku felt trapped in the doldrums of life, trapped in a pit of malaise.

Suzaku sat up. He sighed as he looked at the world through the eyes of the Zero mask. The Zero mask gave him vision, vision that made the world look scientific and artificial. Suzaku could not even see the beauty of the garden he was in.

Suzaku shifted around, and felt something jabbing him in his thigh. He brought his hand to his side pocket, and felt a gun. He took it out and looked at it. It was a purple .38 Britannian Special. Suzaku peered into the the hole of the gun. He swore that he could see light within the instrument of death.

Suzaku took another deep breath. Slowly but surely, he brought the gun to his head.

_"Suzaku! Live!"_

Suzaku let out a scream of pain. His index finger slipped out of the trigger on the gun as his entire hand gripped the handle.

Suzaku struggled to take control. The searing pain of Lelouch's hold on him burned into his head. At last, Suzaku could take no more and let go of the gun. The pain went away immediately.

Panting for breath, Suzaku prought his hand to his heart. All the while, he stared emotionlessly at the glittering pond before him.

"I knew it wouldn't work. I just had to try. There's no other way..."

At that time, Suzaku saw a figure appear to his right. It was his tragic love, Euphemia li Britannia, sitting next to him. She looked angrily at Suzaku, and with a scoff, stood up and walked away.

"Euphy, wait!"

Suzaku held out his hand to her as she walked away. Then, in the blink of an eye, she disappeared. Suzaku's hand remained hovering in midair.

A single hot tear came out of Suzaku's eye. Then, it disappeared, and no more followed it. Suzaku clenched his hovering hand into a fist.

Taking a deep breath, Suzaku stood up and placed his hands on his mask. Slowly, he took it off. The cool, crisp air hit Suzaku's face like water in a shower. For a moment, Suzaku could see the beauty of the garden.

Except it was not a moment. It was perpetual. It was unending. This garden embodied a peaceful world. A world without suffering and differences. A world where no more lies would occur. Unfortunately, that was exactly the world Suzaku had worked with Lelouch and C.C. to destroy.

Suzaku looked to the sky. Among the clouds, he saw the faces of many people he was once close to. Rivalz, Milly, Nina, Lloyd, Cecile, and even the cat Arthur. But the ones that stood out among all of them were Euphy, Nunnally, and Lelouch.

Suzaku looked at the mask in his hands. Those three faces in the clouds were mirrored in the reflection of the mask. He could once again see their faces.

"Euphy, Nunnally, Lelouch...I wear this mask because of you. But...what exactly is it you want me to do? The world is changing. And I don't know what to do about it. How can I guide the world through this period of chaos? I feel like a helpless pawn in the corner of the chessboard."

"So it's all over for your game then, huh?"

Suzaku did not have to turn around to guess who it was. It was _her_, that woman.

"Nemo, must you always bother me, you perpetual witch?"

Nemo uttered a low laugh and took the mask out of Suzaku's hands. Suzaku began to protest, but stopped. What was the point? There _was_ no point in arguing with her.

"Such a simple mask, yet such a difficult problem."

"What do you want from me, woman?" Suzaku demanded. "Are you with me, or against me?"

"What a riddle indeed," Nemo said with a chuckle. She put her hand into the head socket of the mask, and pointed it at Suzaku like a hand puppet.

"My name is Lelouch," Nemo said in an extremely crude impersonation of Lelouch's voice. "Wanna kill me?"

Suzaku sighed. "No. He was my friend. But he was my enemy. I despised him. Yet I loved him. My heart is so cloudy, I can't figure out fact from fiction."

"Tsk tsk tsk," Nemo said loudly. "You're simply a single being within a storm of contradictions."

"Exactly," Suzaku said sadly. "But I want to clear myself of them. Perhaps when I do, I'll decide what to do."

"What do you mean by that?"

Suzaku hesitated for a moment. "I've...known something for a while. But, I don't know what to do about it. It's so big a secret, that the burden is overwhelming. What I do know is that whatever decision I make with this discovery could change life, for better or for worse. But I don't know the right way to go about with it. And I have the feeling that buried under all of these problems and contradictions is the answer."

"A secret, huh?" Nemo wondered out loud, thinking. "And a pawn like yourself is powerless to do something about it?"

"A pawn is used by an outside being to gain an end. But is there any way for a pawn to use _itself_ to reach a goal?"

"The pawn is the weakest piece in the game, but it is also the most numerous. And if a pawn works hard enough to reach the other side, it gets a promotion, and becomes stronger. What is your 'other side,' Suzaku Kururugi?"

Suzaku thought hard for a moment, thinking about his "other side," the goal line beyond the contradictions within him. Alas, he could not find it.

"I don't know. Am I doomed to wallow in my contradictions for the rest of my life?"

Nemo tossed the Zero mask back to Suzaku. "Beats me. But I'd suggest looking to an old friend for advice."

With that done, Nemo disappeared in a pink light. Among the beautiful garden, Suzaku was left alone. Or was he?

Suzaku looked at the Zero mask. This time, it was not glaring at him. It was blank, a _tabula rosa_. It was waiting for knowledge to be written into it.

Mentally, Suzaku filled up the blank slate on the mask. Soon, the mental slate had several figures on it. Along the sides were the faces of Lelouch, Nunnally, and Euphy. Near the top was a geass sigil. At the bottom was blood, a symbol of pain. And in the very center was the ultimate piece. The unmasked face of Suzaku Kururugi.

Suzaku looked in astonishment at the mask. He found the way to reach the "other side."

-II-

Nunnally stared out the window of her room in the Ambrosius Palace. Suzaku was outside in the garden, and he seemed to be contemplating something. Nunnally was surprised, however, to see that he was not wearing his Zero mask. He still wore the uniform, but the mask was completely absent. He seemed to show no qualms about showing the unmasked face.

This relaxed Nunnally. It made her think back to the times where the two of them, along with Lelouch, would talk like lifelong friends without a care in the world. But all that has changed. Suzaku turned into a cold, depressed, emotionless person. Even Nunnally would find herself avoiding eye contact with him. Nowadays, their strolls together would be in silence. Devoid of any hint of friendship.

Nunnally brought her hand to her heart. She could not help but feel a little colder herself. Ruling Britannia has begun to harden her, making her a much less friendly person. Nunnally dreads the day she turns into her relative, Carline le Britannia.

Nunnally pounded her armrest with her fist. Not only was she colder, she was also getting weaker. For the first year of her rule, she had brought Britannia into an age of prosperity. But as of late, she has begun to lose her tempo. She worried that she might not be able to lead Britannia through this strange period of phenomena.

Two main things were on her mind these days. One was geass. Nemo, the mysterious woman, whose intentions are unknown. The other was...Lelouch.

"Nemo. Please...come to me."

Immediately, a pink light flashed in the room, and Nemo stepped forward. She was smiling.

"Greetings, my white witch. How may I serve you?" Nemo said jokingly as she bowed to Nunnally.

"I need...advice."

Still smiling, Nemo let out a light laugh. "Oh? Her majesty needs _my_ advice?"

Nunnally lightly growled. She often grew impatient with Nemo's behavior. Nemo always acted like a small child, mocking others and annoying them. One could not see the genius intellect hidden in her from first impression.

"Nemo, could we please talk like adults in here?"

"You're one to talk. You're a young girl who is not even twenty years of age."

"I can't help that!" Nunnally yelled. "It doesn't matter how young I am! I have this burden of leading a nation, and I have to take full responsibility of it!"

Nemo giggled. "You're sounding exactly like Suzaku. Both of you speak of burdens and not understanding how to deal with them. To tell you the truth, the whole story's getting _really_ old."

"What could _you_ possibly know about burdens?" Nunnally said with a sigh. She looked out the window. Suzaku was gone. "If only brother was here to help me."

Nemo laughed obnoxiously. "Is that what you need advice about? _Lelouch_? If you want his help, then just go find him! I already told you he's alive."

"I can't!!!" Nunnally shrieked.

Nemo silenced herself, while still keeping her grin. Nunnally calmed down.

"I have to take this burden myself. If I drag Lelouch into this, then he'll end up taking the burden, too. My dear brother has already given up so much. His friends, his peace, his life. If he really is alive out there, I want to let him live a new life without conflict. And that is why I have to find a way to lead the world without him."

Nunnally found her voice getting more and more strained as she talked. It was hard for her to talk about Lelouch straightly now. Everytime she did, she would flashback to that day.

-

Nunnally could remember it clearly. However, it was quite cloudy in her mind. She could think of it quite easily. Though it was pretty hard to think about. Nunnally saw that day as the beginning of a bright future. She saw it as the end of her bright world. But among all these paradoxes, she could remember one exact thing. It was the color red.

Nunnally saw as her brother slid down that ramp. He left behind red tracks of blood as he slid to her side. She stared at him. His eyes were barely open, and the life was slowly seeping out of him.

"Lelouch? Are you-"

She took his hand, and her hand began shaking violently upon having a revelation of her brother's true doings. As her brother finally died, she screamed for him, begging for him to come back. But as she did, it seemed like his blood was covering her. As she screamed at him, her vision turned red, and she saw both the atrocities and good deeds he had committed. It was as if his memories were pouring into her head. And the last thing she saw was a bird-shaped sigil escaping from her brother's body.

-

"I never told a soul. I never told anyone...except now."

Nunnally looked at Nemo. While she maintained that mocking smile, she seemed intrigued by Nunnally's story.

"When Lelouch died, something happened between the two of us. He gave me something."

"I'm interested. What was this something?"

Nunnally took a deep breath. "I have seen all that Lelouch had seen up to that day. His eyes became mine."

A wild fire flamed in Nemo's eyes. This bit of knowledge seemed to make her excited and giddy.

"How wondrous! Before you even met me, you gained an ability. You literally looked through Lelouch's eyes and saw all of his memories as if they were your own."

Nunnally nodded solemnly. "Yes. I saw everything. His tactics, his leadership, his power. And I tried to draw inspiration from that power. Up until now, I have been leading Britannia with Lelouch's indirect help. In essence, Lelouch is still the emperor of Britannia."

Nunnally scowled and bit her lower lip. "But, how can I take care of myself if I always have to depend on my brother? I wish to be free of these memories, but another part of me is preventing me from letting them go! Without Lelouch's memories, I'll be a hopeless leader! But with them, I'll just turn into Lelouch himself!"

Nunnally sobbed, her terrible burden putting pressure on her. The smile finally disappeared from Nemo's face.

Nemo went closer to Nunnally. At first, Nunnally expected Nemo to comfort her and act like a kindly guardian. But Nemo did something else instead.

Nemo quickly tapped Nunnally's forehead. The geass sigil appeared on her head, causing Nunnally to let out a cry of surprise. Suddenly, Nunnally saw everything again. All of Lelouch's memories flashed before her eyes. She saw him putting on the Zero mask for the first time. She saw him pointing a gun at Suzaku. And lastly, she saw him looking at her before dying.

And just like that, the memories disappeared. As if they were no longer there.

Nunnally took several quick breaths. Still panting, she looked up at Nemo. The smile had returned.

"Nemo...what have you done?"

"I've forced you to decide," Nemo said. "Now all those memories are gone. All you have left is yourself to depend on."

"B-but Nemo," Nunnally stammered, "what if I still need him? You should have given me more time!"

"Oh, you still need him, alright. But not as your advisor."

"Then as what? What?!?"

"As a brother," Nemo calmly said. "Someone to look over you and give you confidence in your abilities. Someone to stand by your own decisions."

"Nemo..."

Nunnally heard a tapping in the hallway outside her room. Nemo chuckled.

"Speaking of the Zero..."

Nemo disappeared again, like she always did. The door to Nunnally's room opened, and Suzaku entered. His face was unmasked, and he held the Zero mask to his side.

"Nunnally, I ran over because I got this strange feeling. A feeling that we are about to make an important decision."

"Suzaku," Nunnally said quietly,"I have something to tell you. A secret that I've known for a while."

"If I'm not mistaken," Suzaku began, "I think my secret and your secret are one and the same."

-III-

_Date: October 2, 2020 a.t.b. 12:00 AM_

All was quiet in the Shizuoka Prefecture, particularly in the hotel Fuji Major. In one particular room, there were three people sleeping in three individual beds. One was a green-haired immortal woman. Another was a gray-haired humanoid, as he was not actually human. And the last was a brown-haired teenager who wielded a very unique power.

All three of them were sound asleep. It appeared nothing could wake them up. And nothing did, for the rest of that night.

The three of them were in such a deep sleep, none of them noticed the pink light that flashed in the room at 12:00 AM. And thus, none of them noticed the blonde-haired woman who came out of the light.

-

Nemo looked around the hotel room. All three of the others were sleeping. C.C. was in her bed clutching that Cheese-kun doll. The Malthus kid was snoring lightly. And Lelouch slept facing up, not making a single sound.

Nemo walked to the chair near Lelouch's bed. She sat in it, and stared at the former emperor. She studied his face. He seemed to be like any ordinary teenager. But in reality, he was a powerful genius who could strike fear in many. He was Lelouch vi Britannia, the Byronic protagonist of the story.

Nemo sighed and leaned back in the chair. She looked up at the ceiling and pondered her so-called life. The being known as Nemo wasn't born until about 400 years ago. Yet how exactly could one call it "birth"? She was "nothing" inhabiting a body. It was only by pure luck that she managed to escape R's Dimension and enter the material world. Had she not been so lucky, she would still be a random conciousness roaming about aimlessly.

What point was there to her life? Would she really have to spend eternity giving contracts to random people, only to find herself leaving them after they fail to fulfill the contract? What was she to do?

Nemo looked at it from C.C.'s point of view. At first, C.C. only had one thing to look forward to in life. And that was death. It was perfectly normal for C.C. After all, she was once a mortal woman.

But now C.C. has a second thing to look forward to. That "thing" is life with Lelouch. Although C.C. is an immortal witch, she still succumbs to human desires.

But what of Nemo? Nemo was never human to even start with. Nemo has nothing to look forward to in her sham of a life. Nemo was not even sure if she would die from a fulfilled contract, since she became a contractor through unnatural means.

_If I actually do die...this body of mine will simply rot. And my conciousness will float away into nothingness. I have no soul. I have no heaven or C's World in the afterlife._

_I'm just an artificial being. Is there any point to something like myself?_

Nemo looked at Lelouch again. He was still sleeping.

"You're dangerous. Yet in a sense, you hold the answer to the meaning of life."

Nemo slowly got onto the bed. She got on her knees, and looked down at Lelouch. Her body hovered above his body. The golden strands of her hair fell down and touched Lelouch's cheek.

"Tell me. What is my meaning?"

Nemo brought her face down to Lelouch's. She hesitated for about a second. Then, she brought her lips to his lips and kissed him.

As they kissed, the geass sigil lit up on Nemo's forehead. It did not burn, but glowed brightly.

Finally, Nemo took her lips off of Lelouch. Lelouch still remained fast asleep.

Nemo laughed to herself. Lelouch was a man of mystery. He seemed to be the key holding things together.

"So that is my meaning, huh?"

Nemo thought about the kiss again. It was such a simple kiss, but it told Nemo so much.

Whether Nemo liked it or not, she was a human, or at least some form of a human. She has all the human flaws and strengths. But her most important strength was her free will. Free will is possibly the most important part to any human.

Nemo isn't meant to just "find" the meaning to her life. She has to make her own meaning. She has to form her own destiny.

"Oh, what a riot. A soul-less conciousness like me has to make my own destiny, huh?"

Nemo got off of the bed. She looked at Lelouch one final time for the night.

"If I have to make my own destiny, I guess I'll have to start by helping this demon. You hear that, Lelouch? You better not fail in helping me shape my meaning."

-

A pink light illuminated the room. The three still slept. And along with the light, the blonde-haired woman disappeared.

**(RE R)**

_C.C. and Malthus are alone._

_"Tell me about him."_

_Kallen inserts the key into her Knightmare Frame._

_"Let's ride, Guren."_

_Lelouch appears shocked to see a familiar face._

_"Hello, Lelouch. It's Suzaku."_

_The Next Stage, The Next Chapter: __**Order of the Black Knights**_

**(RE R)**

**-Gah! Another horrible updating time! Well, at least I haven't given up on the story! Here's hoping I can make the next chapter really good! And let's keep our fingers crossed that Code Geass: The Jet Black Renya will be good!-**


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